Upcoming Programs and Events

Join Jake Wynn – Public Historian for a engaging programs, presentations, and special events exploring the rich history of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, the Civil War, America’s industrial past, and more.

From on-site history talks and virtual lectures to walking tours and guest appearances, Jake brings forgotten stories to light, offering insightful, well-researched narratives that connect past and present.

Check back often for updates on speaking engagements, historical site tours, live Q&A sessions, and podcast episodes featuring Jake Wynn. Want to book a program for your museum, historical society, library, or organization? Get in touch today!

Upcoming Events and Programs with Jake Wynn

Banner for TED Democracy Live featuring logos for Founding Futures, Visit Philadelphia, Pew, and Frederick County Public Libraries, with a colorful background.

TED Democracy Live: Founding Futures – Frederick County Edition

June 13, 2026 | 11AM-7PM – Local Roundtable Discussion at 6PM

New Spire Arts Stages | 15 W. Patrick St., Frederick, MD 21701

Free | REGISTER HERE

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, let’s explore a bold question: What does democracy’s future look like? Join civic minded members of our community on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at New Spire Arts for the first local TED Democracy event where we’ll live stream a full day of Ted Talks from TED Democracy Philadelphia focused on the past, present and future of modern democracy. AND stay for a live local panel discussion about democratic values, civic engagement, and Frederick County’s future. The daylong event will feature 15+ brand new Ted Talks. This landmark event convenes bold thinkers and civic leaders to share ideas and solutions designed to inform and inspire.

This program supports By the People: Civic Engagement for All, an FCPL initiative to foster civic knowledge and participation in the Frederick County community.

Schedule of the Day- Speakers and topics to be announced at a later date

TED Session 1: 11 AM to 12:30 PM

TED Session 2: 2 PM to 3:30 PM

TED Session 3: 4 PM to 5:30 PM

Frederick County Round Table: 6 PM to 7 PM

Local panelists include:

Jake Wynn, Public Historian and Communications Manager at Visit Frederick
Mary Mannix, Maryland Room Manager
Dr. Bruce Thompson, Professor of History, Hood College, specialty in Civil Rights

‘The Great Anniversary Festival’: A July 2nd Independence Celebration

July 2, 2026 | 6:30-11PM

Seminary Ridge Museum | 111 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA, 17325

FREE Event | Bring your own chair

John Adams predicted, “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” Of course, Adams was off by two days regarding the date Americans associate with independence. But for the semiquincentennial of the United States, you are invited to honor the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth on July 2nd, when a vote on the Declaration of Independence officially passed the Continental Congress.

Join Seminary Ridge Museum, Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg Film Commission, and more community partners for a memorable evening on Gettysburg’s historic Lutheran Seminary campus.

The commemoration includes readings of the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address, a panel discussion focused on the history and legacy of the occasion, and an outdoor screening of the episode “Independence” from the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams. This unique celebration honors the man whose name inspired Gettysburg to become the seat of Adams County, the nation that Adams and his fellow founders helped create, and the lasting meaning of the Declaration of Independence throughout the past 250 years in Gettysburg and beyond.

CJ’s Food Truck will be on site all evening!

America 250: Revolutionary Disloyalty – A Mineworkers’ Rebellion in Schuylkill County in 1862

September 24, 2026 | 6:30-7:30PM

Schuylkill County Historical Society | 305 N Centre Street, Pottsville, PA 17901

Free for SCHS members | $5 for non-members

In October 1862, hundreds of Irish mineworkers in Schuylkill County did something extraordinary – and dangerous. They took up arms against the government.

In this presentation, public historian Jake Wynn explores a largely forgotten uprising in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region when draft resistance, racial grievance, labor unrest, and partisan politics collided in the middle of the Civil War.

Centered in Cass Township and the mining villages northwest of Minersville, the rebellion saw armed mineworkers halt coal production, stop trains carrying drafted men, and challenge state and federal authority at a moment when the Union war effort hung in the balance.

Drawing from contemporary newspapers, political correspondence, and the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Wynn places the 1862 revolt within the broader story of Northern dissent, Copperhead politics, and the turbulent rise of the Molly Maguires.

This is a story of class tension and ethnic identity, of rumor and resistance, and of Coal Region communities pushed to the brink.