RIHS Commemorates the 250th

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate this milestone, the Rhode Island Historical Society will explore Rhode Island’s part in shaping our nation’s history and culture throughout the year through our public programming, educational initiatives, exhibits, social media content, gala event, 250th whiskey, and more!

Causes of the American Revolution with Christian McBurney

Thursday, June 18th, 5:30 pm

Saturdays in the 1700s: Declaring Independence

Saturday, July 18th, 10am – 4pm

The Rhode Island Historical Society invites you to our Golden Ball, a gala celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding and history education, on Saturday, June 27, 2026.

This immersive celebration will evoke 1776 through period food, music, documents, demonstrations, and interpreters, with two 18th-century National Historic Landmarks serving as the remarkable setting: the John Brown House Museum and the grounds of the Nightingale-Brown House. In addition, we will be honoring historian Dr. Gordon Wood for his role as one of the most important voices in recounting the history of the Revolution and as a leader in history and teacher education.

Learn more about the event on the Golden Ball website or buy your tickets now.

We look forward to celebrating this momentous occasion with you!

This yearlong, virtual series will see the RIHS connect with history and heritage partners in the other 13 original colonies to highlight their state’s histories and 250th celebrations. Each monthly offering will be held at 12:30pm. Registration is free. Upcoming series partners include:

Tuesday, June 16: Maryland’s Historic Annapolis

Tuesday, July 14: Massachusetts Historical Society

Thursday, January 15: The Delaware Historical Society

Wednesday, February 25: New Jersey’s Dey Mansion, Washington’s Headquarters

Wednesday, March 25: Pennsylvania’s Heinz History Center

Wednesday, April 13: Connecticut’s Eric Sloane Museum

Thursday, May 7: Georgia Historical Society

RIHS members receive the exclusive benefit of monthly behind-the-scenes tours of sites throughout Rhode Island and southern New England. This year’s series of programs will highlight locations related to RI’s revolutionary roots. Series programs include:

Wednesday, June 3: The Nathanael Greene Homestead
Tuesday, July 7: Battleship Cove
Tuesday, August 18: Fort Adams
Thursday, September 24: Gilbert Stuart Museum
October: North Burial Ground

Thursday, January 22: The First Baptist Church

Friday, February 20: The Varnum Armory

Monday, March 30: The Rhode Island State House

Tuesday, April 7: Roger Williams National Memorial

Wednesday, May 20: Butts Hill with the Battle of RI Association

The John Brown House Museum will continue its series of living history events, in which visitors can learn more about day-to-day life during the Revolutionary period by engaging with costumed historical interpreters and often participating in hands-on crafts or tastings. Series programs include:

Saturday, July 18: Declaration of Independence

Saturday, February 28: Winter Life

Saturday, March 7: Tea in 18th Century Rhode Island

Saturday, April 4: Meet George and Martha Washington

Saturday, May 2: Rhode Island Independence Day

Throughout the year, the RIHS will host programs across our sites featuring authors, historians, craftspeople, and more who will offer insights into the foundations of our nation and the American Revolution, as well as American identity and culture. Programs include:

Wednesday, June 10: People, Places, Things: 50 Years of RI LGBTQIA History Panel Discussion

Thursday, June 11: The Invention of Rum: A View from Rhode Island with Jordan B. Smith

Thursday, June 18: Causes of the American Revolution with Christian McBurney

Thursday, January 8: Between Two Worlds: How the English Became Americans with Malcolm Gaskill

Sunday, January 11: Looking Back 50 Years: 1976 and the Bicentennial Celebration in Woonsocket

Tuesday, January 13: From Saddle to Stage: The Cowboy Boot with Lisa Sorrell

Sunday, February 8: Moving Images: The Bicentennial in Motion with Dr. Morgan Grefe

Wednesday, February 11: Call to Arms: The Making of an Exhibit at the Museum of the Army with Paul Morando

Wednesday, February 18: The Heart Line of America: How Disney Became More Than a Theme Park with the Smithsonian’s Bethanee Bemis

Sunday, February 22: Nathanael Greene – Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution with Paul Bourget

Wednesday, March 4: Not Your Founding Father: Rhode Island’s Genderless Minister with Nina Sankovitch

Monday, March 23: Born on the 4th of July: George M. Cohan with Benjamin Sears and Bradford Conner

Tuesday, March 24: George Washington in Rhode Island with Mount Vernon’s Samantha Snyder

Wednesday, April 29: The Greatest Show on Earth: What’s American about the Circus with Matthew Wittmann

Thursday, April 30: Black Patriots: An Overview of African Americans in the Continental Army with John Rees

Monday, May 4: When the Declaration of Independence Was News with Emily Sneff

Thursday, May 14: Goff Lecture: Representing the Nation: A Look Back at the Bicentennial with the Smithsonian’s Richard Kurin

Thursday, May 21: Blumberg Lecture: Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution with Travis Glasson

We are so excited to welcome the community back for our much-loved Concerts Under the Elms!

The 2026 season promises to be a dynamic one, with the return of the American Band just in time for our nation to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

We will also be celebrating the 250th with a special “British Invasion” show highlighting music from the Beatles to Bowie. Plus, for the first time, we will welcome a performer whose sound is rooted in the music of the 90s, when our beloved series first began.

It promises to be an exciting summer and we cannot wait to share it with you! Check out the full lineup below, and we look forward to seeing you each Thursday at 6:30pm on the Great Lawn of the John Brown House Museum!

Thursday, July 2: The American Band featuring Saugy

Thursday, July 9: Honeycomb Lately (New!) featuring Little B’s BBQ

Thursday, July 16: Motion Avenue (New!) featuring Cultro

Thursday, July 23: Birdstick featuring Ming’s Asian Street Food

Thursday, July 30: David Tessier’s All-Star Band of All-Star Stars (New!) featuring Blount Clam Shack

Thursday, August 6: Alexus Lee featuring JaPatty

The Rhode Island Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of pre-sales for Sabin’s Spirit, a whiskey barrelled and aged in Rhode Island in honor of America’s 250th. Created in partnership with White Dog Distilling, Sabin’s Spirit is inspired by Providence’s Sabin’s Tavern, where the Gaspee conspirators gathered to plot one of the first acts of rebellion that would ultimately culminate in our nation declaring independence. 

Featuring notes of honey and caramel, its finish, perhaps like its inspiration, is smoky but with a lingering sweetness. Bottles are available to preorder from White Dog Distilling for $50 with proceeds benefitting the Rhode Island Historical Society.

So, this year, take the first shot….of Sabin’s Spirit.

*Sabin’s Spirit will be available for pickup starting on Friday, June 26th. Please disregard any preorder confirmation that states it is available immediately.

Each year, more than half a million students in grades 6-12 are guided through a process of historical research, analysis, argumentation, and creative expression. Harnessing the effectiveness of project-based learning, National History Day asks students to conduct primary and secondary-source research on a historical topic of their choosing and present their work as an individual or group project in the form of a documentary film, exhibit, paper, performance, or website.

As the sponsor of National History Day in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Historical Society supports students and teachers throughout the NHD journey. We offer resources that help students in historical research, developing compelling arguments, and preparing projects for competition. We are also dedicated to providing teachers with the training and tools for teaching NHD.

This year’s State Contest was held on Saturday, April 25 at CCRI’s Knight Campus in Warwick. To learn more, visit our 2026 contest page.

We are pleased to announce the return of the RI250 Commission’s Teacher Workshop series, organized by the RIHS. This six-part series provides RI educators with paid professional development opportunities from content experts. This year’s series includes:

Tuesday, June 9 at 4:30pm at the University in Rhode Island in South Kingston
Nahahiganseck: People of the Small Point with Dr. Mack Scott

Wednesday, May 27 at the John Brown House Museum in Providence
Women & Girls in Rhode Island’s Revolutions with Dr. Karin Wulf

Wednesday, March 25 at 4:30pm at Varnum Armory in East Greenwich
“We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again” with Gerald Carbone

Tuesday, April 7 at 4:30pm at Newport Historical Society
“All Men Are Created Equal” with Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes

Wednesday, April 22 at 4:30pm at The Museum of Work & Culture
“Securing the Blessing of Liberty” with Dr. Jane Lancaster

Wednesday, May 13 at Aldrich House in Providence
“We Hold These Truths” with Dr. Seth Rockman

In the 1970s, this spectacular 18th-century mansion was transformed into a house museum to help mark the nation’s bicentennial. A unique combination of family objects and records enabled a broad story of the Brown family to be told. As we approached the next momentous anniversary of our nation, the 250th, we sought a way to tell more stories than a house museum could hold. And so, we began a rolling reinterpretation of the museum by transforming the rooms into galleries that highlight Rhode Island and the World until 1850.

We craft these narratives by working with authors who are among the nation’s best scholars. Some of them have used our collections for their research, and others have written histories upon which our collections can shed further light. Each room presents adaptations of these scholarly works, with interpretation put into conversation with objects and archival material.

We want visitors to learn from Rhode Island’s fascinating history, but also to see how historians do their work. We hope they leave inspired to learn more and explore the vastness of our history. 

Current exhibits are based on:

• Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America by Jennifer Anderson
• Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island by Christy Clark-Pujara
• “More Than Roger’s Wife: Mary Williams and the Founding of Providence” and Roger Williams and His World by Charlotte Carrington-Farmer

Upcoming exhibits to open in 2026 will be based on:

• America’s First Adventure in China: Trade, Treaties, Opium and Salvation by John Haddad
• History Comes Alive: Public History and Popular Culture in the 1970s by M.J. Rymsza-Pawloska

The Revolutionary War in Rhode Island — This site provides access to the RIHS’s Revolutionary War manuscripts, a timeline of the war, and images of a selection of objects from our collection related to the conflict.

Navigator Records for the American Revolution — This listing includes items related to the American Revolution found in Navigator, a database of publications on Rhode Island history.

Colonial Era Broadsides — A gallery of digitized broadsides dating from 1775-1783.

The Gaspee Legacy: Resistance or Teason? — A digital gallery created for the 2022 exhibit at the John Brown House Museum exploring the history and legacies of the burning of the Gaspee.

Rhode Island in the American Revolution — A chapter from Encompass, a digital textbook of RI history, exploring aspects of RI’s role in the American Revolution through essays and collection items.

On the Burning of His Majesty’s Schooner Gaspee in 1772 — A chapter from Encompass, a digital textbook of RI history, exploring the history of the burning of the Gaspee.

Rhode Island History Journal — This digital archive of articles in our Rhode Island History Journal can be reviewed for articles on topics related to the American Revolution.

To Read: On the American Revolution — A list of books on the history of the American Revolution by RIHS trustee Luther Spoehr, Ph.D.