In recent decades, historians have uncovered compelling evidence that the natural world greatly influenced events during the American Civil War. Dr. Lisa Brady, author of War Upon the Land: Military Strategy and the Transformation of Southern Landscapes during the American Civil War, will tell us about Americans' attempts to master the environment and how the war […]
Americans in the 19th century believed they were civilized and that war had to be conducted according to principals of restraint and honor. But the extreme violence and bloodshed of the Civil War--including raids, massacres, and prisoners used as human shields--prompted controversy between North and South over forms of retaliation and who deserved protection during […]
Prior to 1969, Lawrence, Kansas, did not have an integrated public swimming pool. The only option that non-white residents had was to swim in the Kansas River, which was dangerous and proved deadly for a number of unfortunate individuals. There was a concerted effort throughout the decade of the 1960s to get the City of […]
In February 1972, they took a stand. By occupying a KU building and demanding gender equity in policies that affected women students, faculty, and staff on campus, the courageous February Sisters spurred change locally and nationally. Join us 50 years later as Christine Smith and Kathryn Tuttle recreate these events with special readings, discuss the February […]
Join us on the Watkins Museum YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as we chat with historian Frank Van Nuys about his fascinating book, Varmints and Victims: Predator Control in the American West. Varmints and Victims puts the debate over predator control into historical context, tracing the West’s relationship with charismatic predators like grizzlies, wolves, and cougars from […]
Share your story at the next History Harvest for the Oak Hill Cemetery Potter's Field Remembrance Project. If you have a story, photograph, document, etc. about the potter’s field or someone buried there and would like to share it, please stop by the Lawrence Public Library's Videocasting Studio on Wednesday, April 5. If you have […]
Drawing from archival sources and oral histories, author Thomas Grillot demonstrates how the relationship between Native American tribes and the United States was reinvented in the years following World War I in his book First Americans: U.S. Patriotism in Indian Country after World War I. During that conflict, twelve thousand Native American soldiers served in […]
How did food production and scarcities change the course of history during the American Civil War? Join us for a live online discussion with renowned historian R. Douglas Hurt, author of numerous books, who will address these topics and answer your questions. Part of Civil War on the Border, Douglas County’s largest annual heritage festival for […]
Join us at Liberty Hall on December 4, 2024, for a special screening of Television Event followed by a 40th anniversary reunion Q&A featuring The Day After’s cast and crew both in-person and virtually including: - Actor, Steve Guttenberg- TDA Director, Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)- TDA Producer, Bob Papazian (Rome, […]
What did settlers wear to survive the harsh winters of 1850s Kansas? In this public talk, Eric Smallwood, 19th-century men's fashion historian and tailor, will use images, historical accounts, and original pieces from the collection of the Merchant Tailor Museum to address this topic. This event will be held in-person and also livestreamed on our Facebook and YouTube. […]
Enter for a chance to win a piece of Lawrence history! This framed blueprint of the Watkins Building was created by the Historic American Buildings Survey ca. 1960-1975. The framed print measures 27.5" x 21.5". Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. Enter as many times as you'd like. The winner will be drawn […]
Join us on the Watkins Facebook and YouTube as we talk with Lucinda Linderman, Sculpture Conservator with Pacific Coast Conservators, and Kerry Altenbernd of the Oak Hill Cemetery Committee about the do's and don'ts of conserving cemeteries and gravestones for the education and memorialization of ourselves and future generations. This event is a partnership with […]
In their new book Zouave Theaters: Transnational Military Fashion and Performance, Carol E. Harrison and Thomas J. Brown chart the rise and fall of the Zouave uniform, the nineteenth century’s most important military fashion fad for men and women on both sides of the Atlantic. Originating in French colonial Algeria, Zouave fashion spread to America in […]
Military uniforms, badges, flags, and other material objects have been used to represent the identity of Americans throughout history. In her new book The Fabric of Civil War Society, Shae Smith Cox examines the material culture of America’s bloodiest conflict, offering a deeper understanding of the war and its commemoration. Join us on the Watkins Museum […]
