Upcoming Events
March 6, 2026 - Boston Artists Ensemble
This program by the Boston Artists Ensemble pairs and contrasts two transcendent masterpieces of the string quartet literature composed nearly seventy years apart. Ludwig van Beethoven’s final string quartets are regarded as testaments to the human spirit that speak in profoundly personal ways to the listener’s innermost being. Simultaneously energetic and atmospheric, the G minor quartet’s cyclical structure clothes its recurrent themes in a variety of guises exploiting Debussy’s characteristically inventive harmonies, coloristic instrumental timbres, and contrasting moods.
March 8, 2026 - Historic Hearts Yoga
Join certified yoga instructor (and Hamilton Hall staff member) Rebecca Johnson for a special pop-up yoga class benefitting two local Salem nonprofits: PALS Lifesavers cat rescue and Hamilton Hall. Are local nonprofits dear to your heart? Do you love yoga? We'd love to have you join us for this special event.
Choose a spot underneath the sparkling chandelier, beside the fireplace, or alongside one of the tall windows. Roll out your mat onto the beautiful old hardwood floor or the beautiful rug. Stretch out and relax into the third-floor Supper Room that's witnessed generations of feasts, toasts, and lively celebrations.
Breathe spaciousness into your body and mind as you move through a warming and relaxing flow of stretches and poses. Beginners are welcome!
March 12, 2026 - Sumatra’s Maritime History Lecture
Join professor Michael Feener for a lecture presenting some broader contexts for understanding the brief, but impactful, period in which merchant seafarers from the early American Republic traded with the Sumatran province of Aceh. The establishment of that trade in the expanding pepper-producing region of Aceh’s west coast will be situated within a much longer history of commercial and cultural circulations that stretch back to medieval networks of Buddhist and Muslim merchants with connections across both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Tickets are free but reservations are required. Please click the button below to reserve your tickets.
March 30, 2026 - The Importance of History Lecture
In this talk, the Warden of New College, Oxford, Miles Young, will explore the value of history: why it is still an important discipline to be taught; the differences between remembrance and history; and the distortions which history can sometimes create. He will do this through the lens of Salem’s 400th Anniversary, commemorating the contributions of Salem’s past and current communities, and will consider narratives surrounding the 1692 witch hysteria, the American Revolution, and the maritime trade from the perspective of the other side of the Atlantic.
Tickets are free but registration is required.
March 28, 2026 - An Evening in Bloom
We invite the community to gather for this festive, floral, and fun gathering to welcome spring in style with neighbors and friends. This enchanting ball honors Hamilton Hall’s 220-year history while welcoming a season of new beginnings. Dance the night away in your creative, floral-inspired cocktail attire!
Each guest will enjoy:
- delicious sweet and savory bites
- open bar
- DJ and live music
Tickets: click the button below.
Flower Workshop: Want some help getting your ball ensemble together? One of our sponsors, Grace & Diggs, is offering floral headpiece-making workshops at her studio later this month! Details and tickets can be found HERE.
Past Events
February 28, 2026 - Fashioning for Freedom: Layers of Liberty
Join History Alive and Hamilton Hall for a celebratory, historical runway of Black creativity and activism. Discover the stories of abolitionists, artists, and entrepreneurs (including members of the Remond family, Anna Douglass, Charlotte Forten and Edmonia Lewis) who helped shape American history. Explore the ways that these creative and talented historical figures "fashioned" their own unique expressions of freedom.
A big thank you to our sponsors: Salem Night Tour, Dr. Marlene Juedes and Bill Goldberg, the Peabody Essex Museum, and Salem State University!
Front row seat ticket holders will have access to a post-show salon where they can experience conversation and photos with actors, enjoy refreshments, and be led in a “Cakewalk” by performers. Actor Chloe Agyare will be leading this experience and says this about the dance, “People often think the cakewalk is a dance that the rich did to make fun of people of color, but instead the cakewalk was a dance done by the enslaved in the 19th century to make fun of their oppressors…It was a dance to express freedom from oppression and freedom of expression.”
Postponed to February 1, 2026 - Salem’s Centuries Book Talk
Free Salem 400+ event! Join Drs. Donna Seger and Brad Austin of Salem State University at Hamilton Hall for their first public talk on their new book, Salem’s Centuries: New perspectives on the history of an old American city. At 2:00PM on Sunday, February 1, the authors will discuss multiple Salem stories from the book, including those related to Hamilton Hall and its famous activist caterers, the Remonds.
The book talk is free, and Wicked Good Books will be on site to sell the book to those interested.
Donna A. Seger is Professor of History at Salem State University. She is the author of The Practical Renaissance: Information Culture and the Quest for Knowledge in Early Modern England, and manages the Streets of Salem blog. Brad Austin is Professor of History at Salem State University. He is the author of Democratic Sports: Men's and Women's College Athletics during the Great Depression and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching the Vietnam War and Teaching U.S. History through Sports.
Update: there are currently no in-person tickets left. If you would like to be notified when/if tickets become available, please click the button below to join the waitlist. For those who are not able to attend in person, the event will be recorded by SATV and shown afterward.
November 12, 2025 - Americana Lecture
With examples ranging from undergarments, children's clothing, men's garments, women's dresses, accessories, and outerwear, together the collection provides an unparalleled look at what was being worn by the residents of Salem's Chestnut Street across two centuries. Speaker Carrie Midura has been sewing and researching historical fashions professionally and as a hobby for 30+ years and has lectured and taught historical fashion and sewing classes throughout New England. Click the button below for tickets and more information.
October 2025 - Guided tours of the the Hall
New this October! Join us for a special guided tour of all three floors to explore the stories of merchants, dignitaries, activists, and entrepreneurs of past and present.
Twirl in the ballroom to test out its nineteenth-century sprung floor. View architect Samuel McIntire's hand-carved wooden eagle that originally gazed down on passersby from the top of the Hall. Stand next to the hearth where Black entrepreneurs John and Nancy Remond once cooked their multi-course feasts. Learn about their children, Charles Lennox and Sarah Parker Remond, who became famous speakers and activists for abolition and women's suffrage.