DELAYED OPENING | All operations of LancasterHistory will have a delayed opening today, Monday, February 23, due to inclement weather. We will open to the public at 11:30am with the first tour of Wheatland beginning at 12pm. Thank you!
Museum Open Mon-Sat, 9:30am-5pm | Wheatland Open Mon-Sat, 10am-3pm
A previous Review Club event held at the Stevens & Smith Center in 2025. Photographs courtesy of CAP.
“I see my work as forcing us to confront our hypocrisy, forcing us to confront the truth that we would rather ignore.” –Nikole Hannah-Jones
Review Club is a partnership with Crispus Attucks Community Center’s Young Professionals of Color Network in which we facilitate safe and meaningful dialogue around the history of the civic and social issues that impact our communities. For Black History Month, we come together to discuss the recent work of journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones on the past, present, and future of civil rights and the law in America. A selection of Nikole Hannah-Jones’ recent work will be shared with participants to read or listen to ahead of the discussion in the registration confirmation email.
This inclusive event is free and welcomes participants of all ages and backgrounds who wish to engage in constructive dialogue. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for disruptive behavior to ensure a respectful environment for all attendees.
“Review Club” will take place on Thursday, February 26 at Southern Market, 100 S. Queen Street in Lancaster. A reception begins at 5:30pm, followed by the discussion at 6pm.
For questions, please contact Starleisha Gingrich, Education and Programs Manager at LancasterHistory, (starleisha.gingrich@lancasterhistory.org) or Josh Hunter, Director of the Crispus Attucks Community Center (jhunter@caplanc.org). A link to the reading materials is included in your confirmation email. If you have registered and did not receive a confirmation email with a link to the material, please contact starleisha.gingrich@lancasterhistory.org.
Second Founding: A Symphony by D. Michael Wege [March 13]
Celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States and the grand opening of the Stevens & Smith Center with a showcase of classical music exploring the life and times of Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. Second Founding, a powerful new work by local composer D. Michael Wege, will be performed alongside Aaron Copland’s 1942 work, Lincoln Portrait, and William L. Dawson’s piece, Negro Folk Symphony, from 1934.
Performances are available on:
Friday, March 13, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, March 15, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Join the Lancaster Symphony 45-minutes before each performance for a free pre-concert lecture.
Tickets may be purchased through the Lancaster Symphony online or by calling their box office at 717.291.6440. LancasterHistory is unable to sell tickets directly to these performances.
Second Founding: A Symphony by D. Michael Wege [March 14]
Celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States and the grand opening of the Stevens & Smith Center with a showcase of classical music exploring the life and times of Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. Second Founding, a powerful new work by local composer D. Michael Wege, will be performed alongside Aaron Copland’s 1942 work, Lincoln Portrait, and William L. Dawson’s piece, Negro Folk Symphony, from 1934.
Performances are available on:
Friday, March 13, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, March 15, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Join the Lancaster Symphony 45-minutes before each performance for a free pre-concert lecture.
Tickets may be purchased through the Lancaster Symphony online or by calling their box office at 717.291.6440. LancasterHistory is unable to sell tickets directly to these performances.
Second Founding: A Symphony by D. Michael Wege [March 15]
Celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States and the grand opening of the Stevens & Smith Center with a showcase of classical music exploring the life and times of Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. Second Founding, a powerful new work by local composer D. Michael Wege, will be performed alongside Aaron Copland’s 1942 work, Lincoln Portrait, and William L. Dawson’s piece, Negro Folk Symphony, from 1934.
Performances are available on:
Friday, March 13, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, March 15, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Join the Lancaster Symphony 45-minutes before each performance for a free pre-concert lecture.
Tickets may be purchased through the Lancaster Symphony online or by calling their box office at 717.291.6440. LancasterHistory is unable to sell tickets directly to these performances.
Democratic Faith: From Abolitionism to Civil Rights
Dr. Melvin Rogers
A moral and political vision of democratic faith has guided the struggle for racial justice from the abolitionist movement in the 19th century to the civil rights movement in the 20th century. Figures such as Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith, alongside David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, and Martin Luther King Jr., reveal that faith in democracy is not a matter of optimism but of moral courage—the conviction that equality must be enacted in both public institutions and everyday life. Drawing on this inheritance, Dr. Melvin L. Rogers of Brown University, considers how such faith can sustain us amid the moral and political crises of our own time. In the year of America’s Semiquincentennial, these questions lie at the heart of our past, present, and future.
Dr. Melvin L. Rogers is the Edna and Richard Salomon Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Democracy Project at Brown University. A leading scholar of American and African American political thought, his work examines the moral and spiritual foundations of democracy. He is the author of the award-winning The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought (Princeton University Press, 2023), The Undiscovered Dewey: Religion, Morality, and the Ethos of Democracy (University of Chicago Press, 2009), and co-editor of African American Political Thought: A Collected History (University of Chicago Press, 2021).
Information & Registration
The lecture, “Democratic Faith: From Abolitionism to Civil Rights,” will take place on Thursday, March 24, 2026 at 7:30pm at the Ann & Richard Barshinger Center for Musical Arts at Franklin & Marshall College, located along College Avenue near the intersection with W. Frederick Street in Lancaster. [Click here for a campus map.] Parking is available on-street or in nearby Franklin & Marshall lots., or in nearby Franklin & Marshall lots. [Click here for a map of campus parking.]
This lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required to guarantee a seat. At this time, in-person attendance is the only option available. We plan to make a livestream option available. Please check back in early March for this option.
Event Update, 1/21/2026: Previous versions of this event listing included a start time of 7pm. Due to changes with the venue, the start time of this program is anticipated to be 7:30pm. This change and any future changes will be communicated to ticketholders. Thank you!
This event is presented in partnership with Franklin & Marshall College with support from the Center for Politics and Public Affairs and Reckoning with Lancaster.
March 24, 2026 The Barshinger Center for Musical Arts, Franklin & Marshall College, College Avenue, Lancaster 7:30pm FREE | Registration Required
The 2026 Annual Dinner of the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum
Celebrate and gather with friends for the Annual Dinner of the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum! Join us on Wednesday, April 8 from 6-9pm at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Lancaster for an evening of fellowship and fun, benefitting the care and conservation of the Louise Arnold Tanger Arboretum at LancasterHistory.
The Annual Dinner begins at 6pm with cocktails, followed by a plated dinner at 6:30pm and a program and raffle drawings around 7:30pm. We’re excited to welcome Andrew Conboy (@andrew_the_arborist), a passionate urban forester and native plant enthusiast from Philadelphia, PA, whose creative, educational videos have earned him a devoted following on social media.
RSVP INFORMATION & DINING OPTIONS
Tickets to attend the Annual Dinner for the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum are $70 per person. Ticket purchase includes access to the event, a plated dinner (salad, sides, main entree, and dessert), and the main presentation by Andrew Conboy. Raffle tickets may be purchased during the cocktail reception at 6pm with cash. Proceeds from the dinner and raffle benefit the care and conservation of the Tanger Arboretum.
Dinner includes: Salad with sun-dried cranberries, garden vegetables, & balsamic vinaigrette, sides of wild rice and seasonal roasted vegetables, a main entree (choose one: Caprese chicken with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil; New England style baked haddock with blistered tomatoes and sauteed spinach, or grilled vegetables and pecorino cheese ravioli), and cheesecake with fresh berries for dessert. There will be a cash bar.
RSVP by March 27 by registering online or by calling Emily Miller at 717.392.4633, ext. 133. Reservations are held upon receipt of payment.
If you have any allergies or dietary restrictions that we should be aware of, please communicate those to Emily Miller in advance of March 27 by emailing emily.miller@lancasterhistory.org or by calling 717.392.4633, ext. 133.
If you are unable to attend the Annual Dinner and would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum, please click here.
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION:
Andrew Conboy
“Exploring the Remarkable Trees of Tanger Arboretum”
The Tanger Arboretum is a living library of remarkable trees, each with a story to tell and a history of times gone by. For the 2026 Annual Dinner of the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum, we are thrilled to welcome Andrew Conboy, urban forester, arborist, and social media content creator, who will speak on and explore the fascinating variety of trees, from the lesser-known to Champion Trees, that call the Tanger Arboretum home. From maples to magnolias, silverbells to sweetgums, discover which trees support the most wildlife, how trees from across the globe found their way to Lancaster, and the challenges faced by our native species.
Andrew Conboy is an urban forester and ISA-certified arborist in the Philadelphia area who believes everyone needs more trees, native plants, and nature in their lives! His user-friendly content on social media platforms (@andrew_the_arborist) aims to educate and inspire people to reconnect with the living world. He founded an ecological restoration non-profit called Community Canopy Project, which empowers his community to participate in land stewardship. Through his work, he hopes to encourage a deeper integration of nature into the spaces where we all live, work, and play. Get to know Andrew by checking out two of his videos on restoration work and risk assessment.
Thank You to Our Annual Dinner Sponsor, Bartlett Tree Experts!
Join LancasterHistory at Woodward Hill Cemetery for the Annual Wreath Laying Ceremony for President James Buchanan, the United States’ 15th President. Taking place two days after Buchanan’s birthday, the ceremony features the laying of fresh flowers at the gravesite of the former president and remarks by the presiding officer of the Pennsylvania National Guard as well as local dignitaries.
Please check back later for a full schedule.
This event is free and open to the public. No reservations are required. For directions to the Cemetery, please click here.
Celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States and the grand opening of the Stevens & Smith Center with a showcase of classical music exploring the life and times of Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. 
Join LancasterHistory at Woodward Hill Cemetery for the Annual Wreath Laying Ceremony for President James Buchanan, the United States’ 15th President. Taking place two days after Buchanan’s birthday, the ceremony features the laying of fresh flowers at the gravesite of the former president and remarks by the presiding officer of the Pennsylvania National Guard as well as local dignitaries.