History Book Club

              Wednesday, March 25th

                            7 pm

​

                     Rowayton Library

 Last Call

​

by Daniel Okrent

​

A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America’s most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the US Constitution was amended to restrict one of America’s favorite pastimes: drinking alcoholic beverages.

From its start, America has been awash in drink. The sailing vessel that brought John Winthrop to the shores of the New World in 1630 carried more beer than water. By the 1820s, liquor flowed so plentifully it was cheaper than tea. That Americans would ever agree to relinquish their booze was as improbable as it was astonishing.

Yet we did, and Last Call is Daniel Okrent’s dazzling explanation of why we did it, what life under Prohibition was like, and how such an unprecedented degree of government interference in the private lives of Americans changed the country forever.

Free admission; refreshments will be served.

Shamrock Showdown in Rowayton!

Celebrate St. Patty's Day and support our new maritime museum!

The ‘Rambling Inn’ Traveling Irish Pub will be at the Community Center complete with Irish bartenders, beverages, music, bagpipers, accordion player, food, and Celtic dancers! 

​

HHistoHii

​

Saturday March 21, 2020

at the Rowayton Community Center

33 Highland Avenue, Rowayton

$50 per person

Tickets through Eventbrite  

or stop into Seaside Delights to get them there

War on Long Island Sound During the American Revolution

 A lecture by Ed Hynes 

Sunday, March 22nd 

​

2 pm

​

​

Rowayton Community Center

33 Highland Avenue

8th Annual Chili Cook Off

This exciting new lecture reveals the action, intrigue and terror of the people living around Long Island Sound during America’s War for Independence.  With the Connecticut and Long Island coasts less than 10 miles apart in many sections of the Sound, raiders crossed every fair night either to smuggle and/or steal goods, and kidnap or kill enemies.  Spies, on both sides, rounded out this dangerous cast of characters. 

The economic blockade between British occupied Long Island and Patriot led Connecticut was the foundation of this violent conflict. But bitterness and desire for vengeance was fueled by the fighters’ familiarity with one another.  Families and communities were ripped apart as Patriots in Connecticut expelled Loyalists, and Loyalists on Long Island banished Patriots.   

​

Admission: $5 per person; RHS members free.

Witches in Connecticut

A lecture by The Connecticut Historical Society

Sunday, April 19th

​

2 pm

The harrowing story of the hanging of witches in Colonial New England continues to haunt our present-day imagination. The trials and executions of witches in Connecticut predated the more famous Salem witch panic by over 40 years. Hear the stories of some of the women and men accused, tried, and executed as witches and learn how Connecticut successfully controlled the spread of witch accusations long before Salem erupted in panic and violence.

​

Admission: $5 per person; RHS members free.

Raymond Boathouse Grand Opening! 

Sunday, May 24th

​

12 noon

​

right after the parade

The newly renovated Raymond Boathouse will be open after the Memorial Day Parade! Stop by and take a look at our sparkling new museum. This new year-round exhibition space will feature a wide range of exhibits and programming, including those on oystering, hurricanes, maritime disasters, sailing heroes, Native Americans, Greens Ledge and Sheffield Lighthouses, Winter on the River, to name a few.

​

It will also have a permanent exhibit on the ecological history of the Five Mile River, highlighting the flora, fauna and marine life that flourish in our waters, centered around a hand-painted mural.  In conjunction with these exhibits and new space, we will present a range of fun and engaging programs that connect the community with our maritime history and tell the story of the Five Mile River and Long Island Sound. 

This is the only maritime museum in our area. Be sure and stop by! 

​

                     The crew of the oyster boat Mabel Stevens                                      The oyster boat  Kate Stevens being built around 1888

What the Heck is THIS?: Oddities from the Archives

May 24 - December 2020

Stop by Pinkney House to test your imagination and knowledge of objects from times gone by.

Here's your first challenge. Can you identify this appliance? (Hint: it was quite a modern invention when patented in 1875!)