Lecture Programs

America 250 Takes Center Stage in Chautauqua County! Join the Chautauqua County Historian’s Office for the Second Annual Chautauqua County History Expo — bigger, more interactive, and expanded for 2026 as part of the nationwide America 250 celebration marking the Semiquincentennial of the founding of the United States. This family-friendly event brings together local historians, museums, authors, libraries, genealogy groups,…

Celebrating the United States semiquincentennial, Chautauqua presents Week Six, “America at 250: In Partnership with the National Constitution Center and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.” The milestone anniversary offers an opportunity to survey the previous quarter millennium – how a collection of British colonies became the world’s pre-eminent constitutional democracy, with major successes, failures and continued…

Founder and President of the Woodson Center, Community Development Leader and Author. In 2020, Robert Woodson Launched the Center’s “1776 Unites” campaign to counter the 1619 Project. Advocates For Balance at Chautauqua, Inc. is not affiliated with Chautauqua Institution.

The presentation will examine the various architectural styles in Chautauqua and the characteristics that make its architecture unique. We will also explore the various levels of preservation and the approach that should be taken in preserving and enhancing our unique environment. SPEAKER BIO:Bob Jeffrey is an Historic Preservationist who redevelops historic properties in Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. He holds an undergraduate degree in…

Celebrating the United States semiquincentennial, Chautauqua presents Week Six, “America at 250: In Partnership with the National Constitution Center and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.” The milestone anniversary offers an opportunity to survey the previous quarter millennium – how a collection of British colonies became the world’s pre-eminent constitutional democracy, with major successes, failures and continued…

Continuing Chautauqua’s weeklong commemoration of “America at 250,” two of the country’s pre-eminent historians present a mainstage conversation about the moral foundations of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and how they have been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout American history. David W. Blight is Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of…

Melody Barnes is the founding executive director of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, where she leads the Institute on an action-oriented path to realizing the promise of democracy in both principle and practice. She joins Chautauqua’s weeklong exploration of “America at 250” with remarks reflecting on the foundations of democracy and justice, tracing throughlines from the country’s founding…

Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Currently, he also chairs the New Jersey Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. George is general editor of New Forum Books, a Princeton University Press series of interdisciplinary works in law, culture and politics. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations…

Enjoy a guided walking tour of downtown Jamestown, New York, and learn about the fascinating history of this charming town as it applies to Lucille Ball. Participants will meet at the Fenton History Center at 10:00 a.m. The Fenton History Center conducts historic walking tours from June to August. The cost is $8 for members and $12 for non-members. Participants can pre-register online, at the Fenton, or by phone at 716-664-6256. There is a limit…