Archive for category: Press

The Filson Historical Society examines the physical necessity, artistic expression, and cultural tradition in our regions textiles in the exhibit, “From the Same Cloth: Textiles of the Ohio Valley.” Opening on May 29, 2026, this exhibit is curated by Maureen Lane, the Filson’s Curator of Museum Collections.

“From the Same Cloth: Textiles of the Ohio Valley” explores 250 years of textiles and the diverse narratives they share. Through historic and contemporary works, this exhibit reveals how fiber arts express identity, carry memories, and connect families across time. The pieces on display will represent our region’s many communities, cultures, eras, and styles. Highlights include a rare early 19th-century whitework quilt, a linen bedsheet woven by an enslaved craftsperson, a contemporary embroidered quilt documenting current events, and works from Appalachian fiber traditions. As our nation reflects on its 250-year history, we invite you to come experience that history woven into the rich fabric of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley.

“The Filson has an incredible textile collection, documenting craft across the entire state of Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley,” said exhibit curator Maureen Lane. “Each quilt in this exhibit tells a story about the people of Kentucky—stories that would have been lost if these textiles did not exist. Through the textiles they left behind, we can learn about who the makers were and better understand the world they lived in. In this exhibit, we honor Kentuckians’ tenacity, grit, and artistry, and the diverse lives they live as we celebrate America 250.”

Kelly Hyberger, the Filson’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, elaborated further, stating, “This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience some of the most remarkable textiles in our collection, including quilts, samplers, and weavings—many of which have never been exhibited before. These objects tell deeply human stories about the women and men of the Ohio Valley and reveal how textiles can serve as practical necessities as well as powerful forms of personal expression.”

“From the Same Cloth” will be open for viewing Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm through April 16, 2027, at the Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3^rd Street, Louisville. To speak with the curator, please contact Jamie Evans, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at gro.l1782424673aciro1782424673tsihn1782424673oslif1782424673@snav1782424673ej1782424673. For more information on Filson events, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society will host the final installment in the 2025 Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series on Thursday, December 4 with Anne E. Marshall, author of “Cassius Marcellus Clay: The Life of an Antislavery Slaveholder and the Paradox of American Reform.” This vivid and insightful biography reveals Cassius Clay as he was: colorful, yes, but in many ways typical of white Americans who disliked slavery in principle but remained comfortable accommodating it.

The nineteenth-century Kentucky antislavery reformer Cassius Marcellus Clay is generally remembered as a knife-wielding rabble-rouser who both inspired and enraged his contemporaries. Clay brawled with opponents while stumping for state constitutional changes to curtail the slave trade. He famously deployed cannons to protect the office of the antislavery newspaper he founded in Lexington. And yet he was a slave owner until the end of the Civil War. Though often misremembered as an abolitionist, Clay was like many Americans of his time: interested in a gradual end to the institution of slavery but largely on grounds that it limited whites’ ability to profit from free labor and the South’s opportunity for economic advancement. In the end, Clay’s political positions were far more about protecting members of his own class than advancing the cause of Black freedom.

Reconsidering Clay as emblematic rather than exceptional, Anne E. Marshall shows today’s readers why it took a violent war to finally abolish slavery and why African Americans’ demands for equality struggled to gain white support after the Civil War.

Anne E. Marshall is associate professor of history and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University.

“Investigating an impressive international reputation always undercut by a troubled personal life, Marshall’s biography of Cassius M. Clay opens an important conversation about the contradictions inherent in American life, belief, and political coalition-building. This is a perfect topic for the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series, the Filson’s largest public forum for meaningful, informed discussion about our past and future,” said Patrick Lewis, President and CEO of the Filson Historical Society.

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series will be held on Thursday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main Street, Louisville. Tickets are free for Filson members and $26.22 for the public (taxes and fees included). Tickets for this event must be purchased from The Kentucky Center Ticket Service. Please call (502) 584-7777 or visit kentuckyperformingarts.org for tickets.

Initiated in 1993 as a memorial to the life of Gertrude Polk Brown and made possible by the generous support of her children and grandchildren, the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has brought both nationally and internationally recognized historians and journalists to Louisville, many of them Pulitzer Prize winners. Speakers are selected based on their overall excellence in research, writing, and speaking and are not restricted to historians.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society will host the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series on Monday, June 16, featuring “New York Times” bestselling author Rick Atkinson and his latest book, “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780.” The second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy, “The Fate of the Day” discusses the middle years of the Revolutionary War when Washington’s army was fighting on the knife edge between victory and defeat.

“The American Revolution lets us see who we have been and who we are becoming,” said Patrick Lewis. “The Filson Historical Society has spurred our region to think deeply about our past and future for over 140 years. Rick Atkinson’s latest work helps us see both the international diplomatic and philosophical underpinnings of the Revolution as well as how it impacted communities torn by conflict and visited by the stress of war.”

Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans—even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.

Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

Rick Atkinson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven previous works of history, including “The Long Gray Line,” the Liberation Trilogy (“An Army at Dawn,” “The Day of Battle,” and “The Guns at Last Light”), and “The British Are Coming,” the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. He has won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism.

“The Filson is honored to welcome Rick to Louisville once again. As a leading expert in the founding principles of our Republic, Rick’s visit sets the stage for thoughtful discourse around the 250^th anniversary of America’s founding,” said Lewis. “More than ever, it is vital that our citizenry study and contemplate the role of the individual in preserving and protecting our democracy. The Filson is proud to be Louisville’s penultimate motivator and convener of this important study and discussion.”

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series will be held on Monday, June 16 at 6:00 p.m. at the Brown Theatre, 315 W. Broadway, Louisville. Tickets are free for Filson members and $27.50 for the public (taxes and fees included). This lecture is offered both in person and virtually. Parking fees are separate. Tickets for this event must be purchased from The Kentucky Center Ticket Service. Please call (502) 584-7777 or visit kentuckyperformingarts.org for tickets.

Initiated in 1993 as a memorial to the life of Gertrude Polk Brown and made possible by the generous support of her children and grandchildren: Dace Brown Stubbs, Marshall Farrer, Dace Polk Brown, Laura Lee Brown, Garvin Deters, Polk Deters, Laura Lee Gastis, Garvin Brown IV, and Campbell Brown. The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has brought both nationally and internationally recognized historians and journalists to Louisville, many of them Pulitzer Prize winners. Speakers are selected based on their overall excellence in research, writing, and speaking and are not restricted to historians. The Filson hosts up to three lectures per year in this series.

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Filson Historical Society is thrilled to welcome Benjamin Moore as its first Director of Guest Experience. A lifetime Louisvillian, Moore is a Jefferson County Public Schools alum, University of Louisville McConnell Scholar, and holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Louisville with a specialization in historic preservation. He brings nonprofit experience with Leadership Louisville, the nonprofit wing of Norton Healthcare and significant government experience, culminating in being the Director of Economic Development for Louisville Metro Government from 2021 to 2024.

“From spending countless hours at the historic Ferguson Mansion as a child to studying urban planning and building a career growing an environment of more equitable economic opportunity, my appreciation and passion for my hometown’s history has always inspired me,” Moore said.

The newly created Guest Experience team at the Filson brings together events, communications, and visitor services to ensure the highest quality engagement with the Filson for longtime members and first-time visitors. The team is dedicated to making the Filson a welcoming environment that delivers the vital perspective and inspiration that our community deserves—through the Filson’s lineup of award-winning author events, film screenings, musical performances, and community roundtables; supporting researchers and visitors to the organization’s exhibits; and engaging new audiences in print and online. “Expanding access to our shared history is fundamental to charting a brighter, better, more inclusive future,” Moore believes.

“We couldn’t have been more fortunate than to find Ben to lead this new Guest Experience team for the Filson,” said President & CEO Patrick Lewis. “From his personal passions around restoring classic cars and historic homes, decades of business and government relationships, a  strong track record of creating great teams and work environments, and a lifelong commitment to service and the improvement of this community, Ben simultaneously fits right in with our staff and membership and also gives us the platform to amplify our impact and find new partners and audiences for the important work we do.”

Moore began his tenure at the Filson on March 25. For more information or to schedule an interview with him, please contact Jamie Evans, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at gro.l1782424673aciro1782424673tsihn1782424673oslif1782424673@snav1782424673ej1782424673.