Upcoming events:
Saturday, April 4, Noon at the Thaddeus Stevens Museum Annex, 52 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA – Thaddeus Stevens’s 234th birthday will be celebrated with a potluck picnic. The Society will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and birthday cake. Attendees are invited to bring side dishes to share. There will also be entertainment by members of the Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg where Stevens was a major supporter. The event is free and open to the public. If you plan to attend, please call 717-347-8159 or email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com
Friday, April 10, 4:30 pm at the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery, Mulberry and Chestnut Streets, Lancaster, PA – The annual graveside ceremony at Thaddeus Stevens’s grave. It will be followed at 6 pm by the Stevens Day day dinner and Society membership meeting at the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, 750 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA. The dinner is free to members. If you plan to attend, please call 717-347-8159 or email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com
Friday and Saturday, May 1 and May 2 at the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy at the corner of Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster, PA – The long awaited Stevens/Smith museum will have a ribbon cutting at 9 am on May 1. Then at 12:30 pm the Society will have a special awards ceremony at the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery at the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut Streets. This will be followed at 1:30 pm of a tour of the nearby Stevens School Residences. Then on Saturday, May 2, there will be a block party on Vine Street beside the museum celebrating the opening. More information is in another article by Robin Sarratt. If you plan to attend these events, please contact the Society at 717-347-8159 or info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com for additional information.
Stevens/Smith museum to open in May
By Robin Sarratt, President and CEO of Lancaster History
Since June 2019, LancasterHistory has been preparing to create a major new museum honoring the legacy of one of America’s most influential members of Congress, Thaddeus Stevens, while also illuminating the remarkable life of his housekeeper and trusted confidante of 25 years, Lydia Hamilton Smith, and the powerful network of abolitionists with whom they worked to advance freedom, justice, and equality.
Now, LancasterHistory is proud to announce the grand opening of the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, taking place May 1–2, 2026.
The opening weekend begins Friday morning, May 1, at 9 am with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by complimentary museum tours for all who contributed to the capital campaign that made the Center possible. The celebration continues Friday evening with a ticketed gala in the new and expanded Commons on Vine at the Lancaster County Convention Center, located directly adjacent to the Stevens & Smith Center.
On Saturday, May 2, from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m., the entire community is invited to join a free Community Celebration as East Vine Street—between Duke and Queen Streets—closes for the festivities. The afternoon will feature music, art, history-themed vendors, food and beverage trucks, family-friendly activities, and much more. Museum admission will again be free on Saturday, though advance registration for timed-entry tickets is strongly encouraged. Tickets for opening weekend and future visits will be available beginning in March. Visit stevensandsmithcenter.org for more information.
Youngest lifetime member joins Stevens Society
Thaddeus Richard BarryThe plaque Thaddeus will receive for being a gold lifetime member, courtesy of his parents.
By Jillian Gaeta, Thaddeus's mother
Throughout my life, I have always been asked, "What is the story of your name? Why did your parents pick Jillian. While my parents were incredibly thoughtful, the answer to that question was simple: they liked the name Jillian. They thought it was pretty.
As a history teacher of nearly twenty years, I value a good story. I believe that stories have the power to change us -- to change society and to change the way we think. So when I was considering a name for my son, I wanted him to have a meaningful story when someone inevitably asks, "Why did your parents name you Thaddeus?"
Raising a boy in 2026, I wanted him to carry the name of a man he could look up to and admire -- a man with strong values, honorable character, and historical significance. As my husband and I considered names, John seemed too common. While I love a Kennedy, there were too many affairs and mob connections. Martin, Malcolm and Abraham felt too obvious and attention-grabbing. My husband even suggested Kermit, in honor of Teddy Roosevelt's son, who loved to explore, but the problem there is that it is also the name of the famous frog.
Now that my son is here, "Why Thaddeus?" people ask. Here is what I tell them:
Thaddeus Stevens was a congressman in the 1800s who believed deeply in equality. He pushed Abraham Lincoln not only to end the Civil War but to end slavery itself. After Lincoln's death, Stevens was instrumental in ensuring the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and in advocating for voting rights for African Americans. Stevens and Frederick Douglass were some of the first national leaders to call for reparations. Without his leadership during Reconstruction, equality under the law for formerly enslaved people would not have been codified in the Constitution. Stevens pushed boundaries; he was radical, and he challenged the status quo. He also had passion and a sense of humor.
I love sharing this story because aside from my friends who teach history, most people have never heard of Stevens. It is not uncommon for them to be unfamiliar with him. According to a study conducted in 2018 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, only 7 percent of American high school seniors could identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. Reconstruction remains one of the least-taught periods in American history in classrooms across the country.
The legacy of the Fourteenth Amendment remains as vital as ever. Historian Eric Foner describes Reconstruction as a "Second Founding," arguing that it fundamentally transformed the Constitution by embedding the principle of equal rights for Americans. Before the Civil War, that ideal did not exist in Constitutional law. The 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision declared that no Black person could be a citizen of the United States. Reconstruction sought to shatter those racial boundaries and redefine American citizenship itself.
In many ways, based on Foner's scholarship, Thaddeus Stevens can be understood as one of the nation's founders -- not of 1776, but of this Second Founding. I could not think of a better person to name my son after.
Like any parent, I have hopes for my child. I hope that when he tells the story of his name, it sounds different from the way I tell it today. I hope the Fourteenth Amendment is protected and that equality under the law expands even further in both the Constitution and our lived reality. I hope more people understand why our country fought a war over slavery and recognize both the achievements of Reconstruction and the unfinished work of Stevens, Douglass, Lincoln and countless abolitionists.
Most of all, I hope that in my son's lifetime Stevens's dream is realized -- that equality is not only codified into the law but fully actualized in American life. When someone asks my son, "Why did your parents pick your name?" he will have a powerful story to tell and I hope that people recognize its history and they are living in a healed America far beyond what Thaddeus Stevens could have ever imagined.
Thaddeus Stevens documentary envisioned
By Tom Wiggin, filmaker
Exactly twelve years ago, I performed a one man show at the Ware Center called Remarkable Radical: The Life and Times of Thaddeus Stevens. I was grateful for the favorable reception from Society President Ross Hetrick and many of you in the Thaddeus Stevens Society.
As a result of that piece, I was invited last year to record the voice of The Great Commoner for numerous installations in the new Stevens and Smith Center for History and Democracy opening in May.
Revisiting his words and ideas inspired my wife Jennifer and me to explore making a documentary on Stevens’s life. We intend to make a film that, like the stage show, packs an emotional punch as well as a historical one. Connecting the head and the heart is the best way to impress upon people the extraordinary legacy of this great patriot that so few know.
But this is a complex endeavor. Last year our production company Atomic Focus Entertainment (www.atomic-focus.com) released our first feature documentary Banned Together which won best feature documentary at the Red Rose Film Festival. We know from experience that it takes a committed effort, that starts with fundraising.
I’ve discussed this with Society President Ross Hetrick and will bring him on as a consultant for the film. I also know that everyone is looking to raise funds, including your society. But, if you know of any folks or larger organizations who might be interested in supporting this film, please pass them along to us via Ross. The tentative title for the documentary is "Where Have You Gone, Thaddeus Stevens?" In this day and age especially, that question needs to be asked – and answered.
A great friend to the Society dies
Michael Charney and wife, C.J Prentiss at statue dedication. Sculptor Alex Loza in background
The Thaddeus Stevens Society has lost a very dear friend, Michael Charney, who died on January 2 of a heart attack at the age of 75. The retired Ohio teacher and union official was a great admirer of Stevens and stepped up and provided $39,500 of the $55,000 cost of the Stevens statue in Gettysburg and then provided more money for the creation of a graphic novel about Stevens.
As Scott Stephens wrote in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Charney devoted the majority of his 75 years to changing the lives of others, Through thousands of classroom lessons, impassioned union hall speeches and testimony in the Ohio Statehouse, Charney spent most of his waking hours making a difference.”
He grew up in Massachusetts and then became a teacher in Cleveland, OH in the 1970s. In 1981 he married C.J. Prentiss, who would become the minority leader in the Ohio Senate. She died on April 2, 2024.
Michael served on the Executive Board of the Cleveland Teachers Union for more than a decade and edited the Critique and Ohio Teacher. He co-founded the Policy Matters Ohio think tank and was heavily involved with the Zinn Education Project.
He would take every opportunity he could to talk about Reconstruction and Thaddeus Stevens. He named his dog Thaddeus Stevens so that when people asked what his name was, Michael could launch into telling them about Stevens and his devotion to equality and education.
Michael was the main speaker at the dedication of the Stevens statue on April 2, 2022. In that speech he said Stevens “was someone who had principled conviction all of his life against white supremacy and slavery, making sure there was equality in this nation.” That speech can be seen at this link:
https://youtu.be/dRBAS-xB_10?si=61WUcRfKWSp1USvy
The long winding road to the Lancaster museum
The trail towards the new Lancaster museum started in 2000 when what was left of Stevens’s house was threatened with being demolished to make way for the Lancaster Convention Center. But fortunately, the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster had an historic easement on the structure and the group was able to save the house and the convention center was built around it. That was when the Trust decided to pair Stevens with his housekeeper, Lydia Hamilton Smith, to appeal to a broader audience.
The Trust then set about restoring the front of the house to its 1860 appearance, which was accomplished by 2009. But the effort was so expensive that it critically affected the trust’s finances and it was forced to hand off the project to another group, LancasterHistory. However, that group had just finished its new museum and would not be able to mount another fundraising effort until 2020. This effort was further delayed because of the Covid pandemic.
While all this was going on, the Thaddeus Stevens Society was steadily collecting artifacts and with the help of its membership, the Society was able to open a Stevens museum in Gettysburg in 2024. Another storefront next to the museum was added in 2025.
Perhaps the next effort will be to have a Stevens exhibit in his home state of Vermont. Are there any takers?
Stevens's cemetery gets tax deductible designation
A major milestone has been achieved in the restructuring of the cemetery where Thaddeus Stevens is buried. The Shreiner-Concord Cemetery Association, Inc. in February received the designation of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, which allows donors to deduct their contributions. This was absolutely necessary to begin the process of taking possession of the cemetery. The Shreiner-Concord Cemetery has not had an owner since the mid-1900s when the original owners abandoned it. The next steps are to raise an endowment of $25,000 required by state law and then take ownership through a court action. If you’d like to help in this effort, please contact the Thaddeus Stevens Society at 717-34-8159 or info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com
Leave a legacy for Thad
Support Thaddeus Stevens's legacy by leaving a legacy of your own. If you wish to include the Thaddeus Stevens Society in your will, please let us know by calling 717-347-8159 or email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com Thank you.
