Past Events

Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion is pleased to announce that our new interpretive docent-led tour Deep Rivers, is now live and in person at the Mansion. Our docents take you through the museum highlighting the lives, stories, and achievements of 19th-century Black entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and artisans with soundscapes and images. Sample a ginger cookie made from a recipe from  Fisher’s cookbook. Highlighted 19th-century heroes include Francis Johnson, John Trower, Eliza Grier, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Julian Abele, Octavius Catto, Elizabeth Keckley, and more. Tickets are…

Lucilla Marjoribanks is determined to look after her widowed father and become ‘the sunshine of his life whether he likes it or not. Once installed back at home and presiding over her father’s drawing-room, she launches herself into Carlingford society, aiming to raise the tone with her select evening parties. Lucilla is optimistic, resourceful, and completely without self-doubt, but will her indomitable nature diminish her marriage prospects? Miss Marjoribanks (1866) is a wonderfully comic depiction of the conventions and proprieties…

Schedule an appointment to meet with Santa! Each time slot is for one family. Have your own special meeting with Santa. Bring your wish list! Santa is vaccinated. The first appointment is at 1:00 PM. Appointments are scheduled every 15 minutes.

In 1895, the son of a runaway slave overcame various obstacles and fought racial inequality as he embarked on a journey, becoming the first African-American college football player in the state of Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa and lead the Hawkeyes to their first-ever conference championship. Learn about this football pioneer, Frank Kinney Holbrook, from former NFL wide receiver, Quinn Early. Mr. Early produced a short film entitled “The Shoulders of Giants” about the life and career of Frank…

Domestic Manners of the Americans is a 2-volume 1832 travel book by Frances Trollope, which follows her travels through America. The book created a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic, as Frances Trollope had a caustic view of Americans and found America strongly lacking in manners and learning.  She was appalled by America’s egalitarian middle-class and by the influence of evangelism that was emerging during the Second Great Awakening. Trollope was also harshly critical of slavery of African Americans…

With Dr. Concetta Martone on ZOOM One of the most influential figures of the nineteenth century, William Morris, was a poet, a designer, and an activist for social reform. His ideas about art and production stimulated a new way of thinking about the design and making of household objects. Morris established a successful commercial enterprise in the 1860s. His involvement in business bridged the gap between art and skilled manual work when industrial production was becoming the norm and stimulated…

The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion proudly celebrates Black History Month with a double feature of two powerful one-act plays written and directed by Shav’on Smith. Tea with Frederick Douglass finds him trying out his famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” while examining his own past. A Life in Three Dresses tells the story of Elizabeth Keckley, also born into slavery, whose brilliance saw her rise to the White House, becoming the dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. Together,…

The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion proudly celebrates Black History Month with a double feature of two powerful one-act plays written and directed by Shav’on Smith. Tea with Frederick Douglass finds him trying out his famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” while examining his own past. A Life in Three Dresses tells the story of Elizabeth Keckley, also born into slavery, whose brilliance saw her rise to the White House, becoming the dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. Together,…