Lectures & Workshops

Programs at Felton-Smith Historic Site, Smith Barn, 38 Felton Street, Peabody, MA                                                                                                   Handicap accessible. Information: 978.531.0805

Members free | Non-members $5.00  |  All proceeds go directly to the maintenance of our non-profit owned historic houses and collections.                                                                                          

We are proud to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program in collaboration with the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Department of Public Health’s WIC Nutrition Program, the Massachusetts Health Connector, and hundreds of organizations by making cultural programming accessible to those for whom cost is a participation barrier. The Museum will provide free admission to our annual lecture program (February, March, April, September, October, and November). We additionally will accept SUN Bucks from June 17 – September 1, 2025 to cover admission to any scheduled lecture programs.

Special events are excluded from these discounts. See the complete list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts. Cardholders should present their cards when they check-in for lectures in order to receive the Card to Culture discount.

2025 Lecture Series Schedule

“Bathsheba Spooner: A Revolutionary Murder Conspiracy,” with author Andrew Noone

When: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 1pm

Where:  Smith Barn, 38 Felton Street, Peabody, MA 01960

What possessed a woman from the elite of eighteenth-century New England society to conspire with American and British soldiers to murder her husband at the midpoint of the American Revolution? The story of Bathsheba Spooner has alternately fascinated and baffled residents of Worcester County for centuries. Beyond central Massachusetts, the tale is largely unknown. Many, when first hearing of the scandal, assume it to be the stuff of legend. It was, in fact, the most sensational “true crime” tragedy of the American 1700’s.The episode’s ingredients included a cold, possibly abusive husband, a handsome, directionless teenager, a pair of roughened British prisoners-of-war, and readily available cash set aflame by social and political isolation, wartime uncertainty and social upheaval.

Andrew Noone is an independent scholar and holds graduate degrees in musicology and art history from Syracuse University. He completed the three-year graduate program Keepers of the Republic which was hosted by the American Antiquarian Society. Noone has taught courses at colleges through eastern and central Massachusetts. Formerly a member of the Worcester Historical Commission, he currently serves as a docent for Preservation Worcester.

“History of the Christmas Tree Shoppe,” with local historian Anthony Sammarco

When: Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 1pm

Where:  Smith Barn, 38 Felton Street, Peabody, MA 01960

The Christmas Tree Shop was not just an icon of New England, it was a destination with stores that boasted a diverse assortment of merchandise from seasonal decorations, home decor, housewares, food, giftware and just about everything else that the public just had to have. The closure of the chain in August 2023 was “a call to action” for Mr. Sammarco in his efforts to preserve and document the history and growth of the company that was both iconic and “beloved by millions.” Mr. Sammarco’s book is filled with photos, mostly from the collection of Doreen Bilezikian (Chuck Bilezikian died in 2016), including both exterior and interior shots of the various shops, store displays and engaged employees (the chain was one of the largest employers on the Cape in the 1990s).

Referred to as the “Balzac of Boston History” by the Boston Globe, Anthony Mitchell Sammarco is a noted historian and author of many books on the history and development of Boston, and he lectures widely on the history and development of his native city.

Exhibits

Revolutionary and Civil War History at the Gideon Foster House, 35 Washington Street

World War II History at the Osborn-Salata House, 33 Washington Street