Boston National Historical Park

See how colonial craftsmen created eye-catching marbled papers. Watch as R. P. Hale floats
pigments in water, swirls the colors, then transfers the designs to paper. It may look like magic
but Hale will explain the very real science behind this fascinating phenomenon.

Paula Peters will explore the deep relationship between environmental health, Indigenous knowledge, and cultural practice. Focusing on native materials such as bulrush and wampum, the talk will show how plants and shells are not simply resources, but living connections to land, water, craft, and identity. Peters will discuss how invasive species, development, and ecological imbalance threaten these traditions—and how restoration efforts to bring native plants back can help renew both the landscape and the cultural practices rooted within it.

Paula Peters is the founder of the Native American creative agency SmokeSygnals, an independent scholar and a politically, socially, and culturally active member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. As an independent scholar and writer of Native, and particularly Wampanoag history, she is a producer of the traveling exhibit “Our” Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History and is currently engaged in the Wampum Belt Project in search of the lost treasures of Metacom, including an effort to restore the art and tradition of wampum making among her people. She is the executive producer of the 2016 documentary film Mashpee Nine and author of the companion book. She lives with her extended family in Mashpee and travels internationally to speak and educate on the true Wampanoag story. A graduate of Bridgewater State College, she was formerly a writer at the Cape Cod Times where she won numerous national awards for her journalism.

This lecture is presented as a part of our 2026 Lowell Lecture Series, “Engrave, Paint, Sew, Weave: Craft and Craftspeople in Massachusetts.” Craft transcends boundaries of place, time, and culture by communicating across literal and figurative distances. Many craft traditions are also deeply rooted in the places they are practiced in, influenced by local climates, geographies, and resources. Inspired by Paul Revere’s legacy as an artisan, this series delves into four local and regional histories of craft and craftspeople.

Lectures take place on Mondays, September 14 and 28 and October 05 and 26, from 6:30 to 7:45 pm. Lectures are free to the public and can be watched online (link coming soon!) or in person at Smith Commons (5th floor), Sargent Hall, Suffolk University, 120 Tremont Street. The lectures will be recorded and available after the fact.

The in-person location is wheelchair accessible and has accessible restrooms. Seating is in free-standing chairs which may be moved. The live-stream and recording will have auto-generated closed captions only. Please contact the Paul Revere House with any questions about accessibility.

Presented in partnership with GBH Forum Network, the Suffolk University History Department, and the Museum of Fine Arts, with funding from the Lowell Institute.

Join USS Constitution Museum Curatorial Staff for a special viewing of artifacts in the Museum’s Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library, followed by a guided tour of “Old Ironsides.”

This exclusive, guided exploration of naval life during the Age of Sail will start in the Museum’s Reading Room to “open the vault” and look at items from the collection. Then, we’ll head over to board USS Constitution and journey through the decks to see how sailors lived and worked there in the early 1800s.

Join us on Zoom to learn about the harrowing adventure of Old North congregant Mary Ann Patten, the first female captain of a merchant ship.

The New York Times bestselling author Tilar J. Mazzeo will deliver a fascinating talk about her popular book The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love and Adventure at the Bottom of the World. The book details the true story of Mary Ann Patten, the first female captain of a merchant ship, who navigated the treacherous waters of Antarctica in 1856.

Born into a New England seafaring family, Mary Ann worshiped at Old North Church as a child and attended the Sunday School. At 19 years old, Mary Ann and her husband, Captain Joshua Patten, embarked on a sea journey to San Francisco to pursue their dream of building a farm and a family. This fateful trip would take them through the most dangerous waters in the world.

During their voyage, Joshua fell deathly ill and was confined to his bunk, delirious. The treacherous first mate, locked in the brig for insubordination, was agitating for mutiny. With no obvious option for a new captain, Mary Ann stepped into the breach and convinced the crew to support her, just as they slammed into a gale that would last 18 days. Determined to save the ship, the crew, and their future, she faced down the deadly waters of Drake’s Passage.

Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, The Sea Captain’s Wife finally gives Mary Ann Patten her due. Tilar will discuss the new archival research she conducted from 19th-century women’s maritime journals and on her own expedition to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in search of Mary Ann’s route. Thrilling, harrowing, and heroic, Mary Ann’s story is one of a woman who, for love, would do what was necessary to survive.

TILAR J. MAZZEO is the author of more than a half-dozen award-winning biographies and works of cultural history, including the New York Times bestselling The Widow Clicquot, now a major motion picture. She began her career as a tenured professor, holding positions at universities in the United States and Canada for more than twenty years. Dr. Mazzeo left the academy in 2021 to pursue full-time writing. She lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

Join a National Park Service Ranger as they share Boston’s diverse history through unique guided tours.

Did you know that colonial Boston was a hub of activity for the most notorious pirates in the 1700s? During this “Golden Age of Piracy” pirates lived in Boston, were imprisoned here, and sometimes executed here. This tour examines the lives of several of the most famous pirates who walked the streets of Boston, including Captain William Kidd, “Black” Sam Bellamy, Ned Lowe, and Willian Fly.

Meeting Point: Sam Adams Statue, outside Faneuil Hall, 1 Faneuil Hall Square, Boston, MA 02109

Final Stop: Old State House

Route Info: The tour will cover approximately 1.5 miles over uneven surfaces and cross multiple intersections in a highly populated urban area.

Join the National Park Service Rangers at the Bunker Hill Museum for a free public screening of the Mohegan Tribe’s historical film Up and Down the River.  

Spanning the colonial and American Revolutionary eras, Up and Down the River delves into the difficult decisions made by members of the Mohegan Tribe at these pivotal periods in both tribal and U.S. history. Featured in this film is the Ashbow family, including Hannah and her son Samuel Ashbow Jr. Choosing to fight alongside the American colonists, Samuel Ashbow Jr. died at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, becoming one of the first Indigenous soldiers to die in the American Revolution. 

Up and Down the River is a 20-minute educational film that centers Mohegan nuanced perspective of and participation in the American Revolution. In siding with the American colonists, Mohegans faced sacrifices as they sought to preserve Mohegan sovereignty, identity, and cultural traditions. Some Mohegan soldiers, such as Sameul Ashbow Jr., gave their lives for the cause of Mohegan and American independence. Mohegan women faced the loss of family members, as well as their social and political rights. Through these losses, generations of Mohegan women resiliently preserved their traditions, language, and identity to ensure the future of the Mohegan nation. 

Up and Down the River was co-written by Council of Elders Vice Chair Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel and her daughter Film Director Madeline Sayet. The National Parks of Boston helped the Mohegan Tribe secure funding to produce this film through the National Park Foundation.