The Restoration of the Old First Church

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Were you wondering why the top of the Old First Church was on the ground all summer? This presentation will dive into the lantern, roof, and bell deck preservation that took place in 2025. Wayne Kachmar will discuss the chall......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Were you wondering why the top of the Old First Church was on the ground all summer? This presentation will dive into the lantern, roof, and bell deck preservation that took place in 2025. Wayne Kachmar will discuss the challenges and processes involved in preserving a landmark building, including a look at previous repairs and modifications over the structure’s 220 year history. You will learn about the processes and methods used to retain as much of the original structure as possible and how newer materials were blended with tools and methods consistent with the original builders. Wayne will share a pictorial step by step of the repairs to the roof, lantern, steeple, and the front façade, and talk about the challenges of keeping the church building in continual use during the restoration. Wayne Kachmar is Chair of the board of trustees of the Old First Church in Old Bennington, Vermont. He is serving as the clerk of the works for the restoration of the sanctuary building. In his professional career, he is an Electro Optic engineer with over 45 years of industry experience and is the inventor on over 100 patents. Through both professional and volunteer work, he has overseen the building and/or renovation of many buildings, ranging from state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing centers, to this historic church. supported by

Antiques Appraisal Fair

Bring your personal treasures for evaluation by professional appraisers Charles Flint, Lorraine German, Maria and Patricia Siskind, and Charles Suss, and talk to members of the Collections Care and Conservation Alliance about how to preserve your precious items.  Bring ......More

Bring your personal treasures for evaluation by professional appraisers Charles Flint, Lorraine German, Maria and Patricia Siskind, and Charles Suss, and talk to members of the Collections Care and Conservation Alliance about how to preserve your precious items.  Bring up to 5 items for appraisal at $10 per item. You may bring these and/or other items to representatives from the Collections Care & Conservation Alliance for consultation free of charge. No need to register in advance. Participants will be paired with appraisers based on order of arrival. The AppraisersCharles Flint, of Charles L. Flint, Fine Art and Antiques in Lenox, MA, has an impressive background in and knowledge of antiques. He performs appraisals and authentications for museums, as well as private collectors and insurance companies. A member of the New England Appraisers Association, he has expertise in fine arts Early American furniture, both country and formal 16th to 19th century oil paintings, both European and American Shaker furniture and accessories early blown and molded glass paper and rare books toys bottles folk art early photography vintage jewelry civil war objects stoneware and numerous other areas. Lorraine German and her late husband Steve established Mad River Antiques, LLC in 2001, with a concentration on 18th, 19th, and 20th century Americana and decorative arts. Over the years, they have received extensive recognition from their peers for their expertise in stoneware, textiles, Christmas decorations, and Indian baskets.  They have been frequent guest speakers at antiques shows, museums, and antiques organizations, where they have covered a variety of topics, including stoneware, redware, quilts, Christmas ornaments, and Santa Claus. Lorraine is a member of the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America and the Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association.  Both she and Steve have served as collection advisors for the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts. Maria Siskind co-owns Siskind Appraisals in Williamstown, MA with her mother Patricia Siskind. Together they have been helping clients realize the intrinsic value of their possessions since 1996. Whether it is estate work, insurance values, advising on how to live with fine art and antiques, or retaining and dispersing of inherited items, they have been able to find a solution. Maria works throughout the Berkshires, Southern Vermont and adjoining New York. She is a generalists, but her special interests include fine art, 18th to 20th century furniture and decorative items, silver, and estate jewelry. Charles Suss began collecting and studying coins in grade school. In high school he served as president of the school’s coin club for two years while working part time in a coin shop. At the Bowery Jewelry Exchange he became interested in pocket watches. He is a long standing member of the American Numismatic Association (A.N.A.), Early American Coppers (EAC), the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4), the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) and the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). He bought, sold, attributed and appraised coins and currency with Tofel Jewelers and at Armstrong Jewelers. He was the prime coin dealer at Camelot Village until its closure in late 2019. Charles then joined Main Street Antiques as a managing partner. His experience ranges from ancients through foreign and modern US issues. He specializes in early American coins and loves timepieces. Collections Care AllianceThe Collections Care & Conservation Alliance is a network of conservation and preservation professionals that seeks to improve collections care by providing information and education to individuals, organizations, and institutions. Bring them your questions about how to best store, clean, or exhibit heirlooms how to find a professional conservator and how to inventory collections for estate planning or family discussion. These experts will be available to give you their advice at no charge.

Museum ABCs: Making Faces - Exploring Portraits

Find faces young and old in the Museum galleries. What are the parts of a face? What makes one person’s face different from another’s? We’ll find the answers to these questions, share a story, and make silly portrait collages using the faces we found in the galleries. M......More

Find faces young and old in the Museum galleries. What are the parts of a face? What makes one person’s face different from another’s? We’ll find the answers to these questions, share a story, and make silly portrait collages using the faces we found in the galleries. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! presented in partnership with the Bennington Free Library sponsored by additional support from

Michael Arnowitt: Piano Panorama

Pianist Michael Arnowitt will perform a varied and colorful program featuring a set of pieces by Claude Debussy music by the great Black American composer George Walker from his piano sonatas “Little Beginning” by the Canadian musician John Kameel Farah, which creativel......More

Pianist Michael Arnowitt will perform a varied and colorful program featuring a set of pieces by Claude Debussy music by the great Black American composer George Walker from his piano sonatas “Little Beginning” by the Canadian musician John Kameel Farah, which creatively blends the style of the Renaissance composer William Byrd with elements from Middle Eastern musical traditions Olivier Messiaen’s “The Reed Warbler,” an excerpt from the composer’s Catalogue d’oiseaux (Catalog of Birds) evoking scenes of nature and bird song the current-day Ukrainian composer Victoria Poleva’s spiritual and expressive Sonata quasi una fantasia and the exciting finale to Bartok’s Piano Sonata, a lively piece influenced by the folk melodies and rhythms of Bartók’s native Hungary. The concert will also feature Michael Arnowitt’s well-received recent creation “The Stream” based on J.S. Bach’s Fugue in C-sharp minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Michael Arnowitt is one of today’s most creative musicians. His extraordinary sense of touch at the keyboard, his abilities to find new articulations and colors from the piano, and his warm onstage personality have delighted audiences in concert halls around the world. Michael Arnowitt has given seven concert tours of Europe, performing in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and he has also given concert tours in Russia and Korea. He is the subject of the documentary film, Beyond 88 Keys, filmed in both the USA and Europe and available on Vimeo. He lives in Toronto, Canada where he moved in 2018 after living in Vermont for over 30 years.  The Washington Post said of a special piano concert Michael Arnowitt performed at the National Gallery of Art, “He played with an exquisite sense of touch, color and musical imagination.” Michael Arnowitt is currently working on a book of essays about music, What Makes Great Music Great, to be published by the Vermont-based Fomite Press.   In 2017, Michael Arnowitt was honored with a special legislative resolution by the Vermont House and Senate and a personal thank you in a meeting with the Governor of Vermont in recognition of his years of contributions to Vermont music. His musical activities in Vermont over the years included being the artistic director of the Vermont Millennium Music Festival, which was a 4-day gala of 24 concerts and special events  presenting music from the year 1000 to the year 2000 in chronological order. During his time in Vermont, Michael Arnowitt was the principal organizer for a number of major fundraisers to benefit humanitarian aid for Balkan and Syrian war refugees and relief efforts after Vermont hurricanes and floods, causing the Barre Times-Argus newspaper to comment in an editorial, “Arnowitt has shown once again that his conscience is every bit as impressive as his cadenzas.” Music at the Museum programs are presented at no charge, thanks to our generous sponsors,Alison Nowak and Robert Cane.

A Monument Society Event

Join Bennington Museum’s Executive Director for a tour of the Empire State Plaza Underground and then dinner at acclaimed Villa di Como in Albany. Shuttle from Bennington Museum available on a first come first serve basis. Sign Up Here!

Old Bennington and the Continental Storehouse

a Bennington Historical Society presentation In 1777, British General John Burgoyne sent troops toward Bennington to capture supplies held in a Continental storehouse, setting the stage for the Battle of Bennington.. In this presentation, historian Bob Hoar will explore......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation In 1777, British General John Burgoyne sent troops toward Bennington to capture supplies held in a Continental storehouse, setting the stage for the Battle of Bennington.. In this presentation, historian Bob Hoar will explore the two most important men behind gathering those supplies: original Bennington settler, church deacon, and revolutionary Republican, John Fassett and Hamilton Federalist and future governor, Isaac Tichenor. Bob will also discuss the buildings that were used as storehouses and what became of them after the Battle of Bennington, as well as the history of the State Arms house – the Vermont Republic’s storehouse during the turbulent 1780s. Bob Hoar is a local historian who has embraced the complex stories of Colonial history. Bob has done many history presentations and events, worked at the Bennington Battlefield, and currently volunteers at the Bennington Battle Monument in the summer. You can find him on Facebook posting as Battle of Bennington. supported by

Museum ABCs: Trail Tale - If You Plant a Seed

Join us for a story on the George Aiken Wildflower Trail. When Rabbit and Mouse plant tomato seeds, they get tomatoes. When they plant carrot seeds, they get carrots. But when they plant the seeds of selfishness, they get a heap of trouble. What can they do to fix it? S......More

Join us for a story on the George Aiken Wildflower Trail. When Rabbit and Mouse plant tomato seeds, they get tomatoes. When they plant carrot seeds, they get carrots. But when they plant the seeds of selfishness, they get a heap of trouble. What can they do to fix it? Share Kadir Nelson’s beautifully illustrated story, If You Plant a Seed, with us, and plant a seed of your own to bring home. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! presented in partnership with the Bennington Free Library sponsored by additional support from

The Story of Hiram Bingham

a Bennington Historical Society presentation The remarkable story of the Binghams starts with Hiram Bingham who farmed on the future site of Bennington College in the early 1800s. He and his descendants impacted people and nations around the world. Bingham, and his son,......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation The remarkable story of the Binghams starts with Hiram Bingham who farmed on the future site of Bennington College in the early 1800s. He and his descendants impacted people and nations around the world. Bingham, and his son, grandson, and great-grandson, influenced the modern history of Hawaii and other Pacific islands, the discovery of Machu Picchu in Peru, politics in Connecticut, the escape of 2,500 Jews from Nazi-occupied France, and a U.S. postage stamp. Rev. Glen Bayly became interested in the Binghams during the 1990s, when he was the pastor of the Mission Alliance Church in Bennington. When a missionary from the church came back from Honolulu with a photograph of a plaque honoring Hiram Bingham of Bennington, Vermont, Glen’s curiosity was piqued and his research began. Glen served 40 years of ministry as a pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, was a campus minister at Penn State University for 7 years, and hosted a syndicated radio program, ‘The Lions’ Den University Report’ for 22 years. He and his wife, Darlene, have lived in Central Pennsylvania for the past 25 years. supported by

Museum ABCs: Amazing Architecture

You know about windows and doors, but can you spot a column, an arch, or a dentil? We’ll visit a nearby building that has all of these bits of architecture. Will you add them to the building you make to bring home? Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museu......More

You know about windows and doors, but can you spot a column, an arch, or a dentil? We’ll visit a nearby building that has all of these bits of architecture. Will you add them to the building you make to bring home? Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! presented in partnership with the Bennington Free Library sponsored by additional support from

Artillery at the Battle of Bennington

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Cannons played a small but notable role in the seminal August 16, 1777 Battle of Bennington. Made in England, the guns and their carriages constituted top-of-the-line military technology for the time. The men who manned, load......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Cannons played a small but notable role in the seminal August 16, 1777 Battle of Bennington. Made in England, the guns and their carriages constituted top-of-the-line military technology for the time. The men who manned, loaded, and fired the pieces were German subsidiary troops hired by the British government to supplement its war effort. Paned by Thomas Jefferson’s propagandistic pen as foreign “mercenaries,” these Hessians were, come to find out, no such thing. In this program, Eric Schnitzer will examine how the cannons were employed in battle and investigate the material culture of the cannon barrels, carriages, and the projectiles they shot. He will also explore the backgrounds and some of the stories of the officers and soldiers from Hessen-Hanau who operated these artillery pieces in both phases of the famed battle. Eric Schnitzer has worked at Saratoga National Historical Park since 1997, becoming Park Ranger/Historian in 2000. Author of Don Troiani’s Campaign to Saratoga – 1777, he has dedicated his life’s study to the organization, personnel, and material culture of the military forces associated with the Northern Campaign of 1777. He and his wife, Jenna, live in an 18th -century house in the White Creek Historic District near Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site, N.Y. supported by