Summer Lectures and Exhibit at Wyman Tavern Museum to focus on Firearms

June 2009

This summer at the Wyman Tavern Museum, 339 Main Street in Keene, NH, there will be three lectures on Muskets, Militia, and Firearm Manufacturing as well as a special exhibit of firearms from the collection of the Historical Society of Cheshire County.

The exhibit, entitled Muskets, Shotguns and Pepperboxes, will include numerous guns dating from the 18th century to the Civil War period, including a double barrel shotgun made by Keene's George O. Leonard in 1864. Leonard's rifles were known for their quality and accuracy at long distances and were in great demand during the Civil War. The exhibit opens on Saturday, July 18 and may be viewed during the Wyman Tavern Museum's hours, Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment.

There will be three programs in the Wyman Tavern Lecture Series during the course of the firearms exhibit. The first lecture will be given on Thursday evening, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. by historian Robert Colton on The Evolution of Firearms in the Connecticut River Valley, 1750's - Post Civil War. Mr. Colton is from the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. The second lecture will be given on Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m. by Bill Hartley, former Fort at No. 4 interpreter, on The Volunteer Soldier: The Role and Function of the Local Militia. The Wyman Tavern Lecture Series will conclude on Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. with a presentation by Alan Rumrill and Tom Haynes of the Historical Society of Cheshire County on the history of local manufacturing of firearms in Cheshire County.

Keene's Historic Wyman Tavern is located at 339 Main St. in Keene. Lectures are free and open to the public with donations encouraged. Reservations are requested due to limited seating. Please call HSCC at 352-1895 to make a reservation.