August 7: The Life and Times of Nathan Hale

On Saturday, August 7th,  10 am to 4:30 pm, Connecticut Landmarks invites you to a symposium on the life and times of Connecticut State Hero, Nathan Hale. Walter Woodward, Connecticut State Historian, will be the keynote speaker; other presentations are by Richard E. Mooney, Kevin M. Sweeney and M. William Phelps. Bruce M. Stave will moderate a panel discussion. The event will conclude with a reception and special tour of the Nathan Hale Homestead, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and evokes a sense of Connecticut’s legendary patriotic and agrarian heritage. The house, built in 1776, belonged to the parents and family of Nathan Hale and is located on the only site he ever called home.

LOCATION:
The morning portion of the symposium will take place at the First Congregational Church of Coventry, 1171 Main Street, followed by the tour and reception of the Nathan Hale Homestead, 2299 South Street, Coventry.

FEE:  $50 per person, or $40 for CTL members, which includes lunch. Registration is required. To register call 860.247.8996 ext. 23, or email jamie.fontaine@ctlandmarks.org.

PROGRAM:

The Burning Issue About Nathan Hale
by Walter W. Woodward, Connecticut State Historian
Woodward is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Connecticut and author of Prospero’s America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676.


Nathan and Me: What I Learned from Nathan Hale
by Richard E. Mooney
Mooney is the former Executive Editor of The Hartford Courant, correspondent and member of the editorial board of The New York Times and curator of "Nathan Hale: Yale, 1773," an exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the hero’s birth ( www.library.yale.edu/mssa/exhibits/hale/).


Hale, His Life & Legacy: Separating Fact From Fiction
by M. William Phelps
Phelps is an investigative journalist and author of the recent biography, Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy.


The Hales’ Homestead: Material Life in Colonial Connecticut
by Kevin M. Sweeney
Sweeney is a Professor of American Studies and History at Amherst College and author of Captors And Captives: The 1704 French And Indian Raid on Deerfield.

Panel Moderator:

Bruce M. Stave is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Director, Oral History, at the University of Connecticut. Stave is a resident of Coventry and author of Mills and Meadows: A Pictorial History of Northeast Connecticut.