At the Museum

Lisa DeVerna — Fri, 29 May 2026 17:05:04 +0000

We’ve partnered with The Long Island Museum for a collaborative program this summer!

At the Museum: Meet the Author

Tuesday, July 21, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Long Island Museum (Carriage Museum)

Librarian Emma Yohannan will moderate a lively conversation with special guest, Claire Bellerjeau, co-author of Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth (Liss). You are encouraged to read the book ahead of time and participate in the Q&A session. Afterwards, you’ll have time to visit the exhibition The Seat of Action: Long Island in the American Revolution and Beyond, where Long Island Museum educators will be stationed to answer your questions. Event will begin in the Gillespie Room in the Carriage Museum.

Open to residents and nonresidents – register here with a valid Suffolk County library card starting 6/22.

Plus! An Evening Book Discussion at the Library:
Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution

Monday, July 13, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Emma Clark Library

Join us for an intimate book discussion at the Library in preparation for meeting the author at the Museum! Discussion will be facilitated by Librarian Emma Yohannan.

Open to residents and nonresidents – register here with a valid Suffolk County library card starting 6/22.

Accessing the Book

A limited number of copies of Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth (Liss) will be available to borrow at the Circulation Desk beginning on June 22. The ebook is also available to borrow in the Libby app.

About The Long Island Museum Exhibit:

The Seat of Action: Long Island in the American Revolution and Beyond – In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, The Seat of Action spotlights the experiences of the Long Island region during the Revolutionary War, an area that was under martial law and British control longer than any other part of the American colonies. In the years between the Battle of Long Island (August 1776) and the liberation of New York (November 1783), military occupation led to the loss and destruction of property, the separation of families, and atrocious levels of suffering across this area. This exhibition features a rich array of artifacts and paintings, including a rare portrait of General George Washington’s spymaster, Benjamin Tallmadge (1754–1835) (member of the famous Culper Spy Ring), on loan from the Litchfield Historical Society. The general experience for Long Islanders over those seven years was one that witnessed large-scale population evacuation and the destruction of churches, woodlands, agriculture, and livestock as British forces used the area as a source of sustenance for their larger war effort. The post-Revolutionary War era was one of profound reconstruction across Long Island. At the same time, the tragic impacts of the war also brought about powerful and transformative legacies, leading to more democratic politics across this region and to the eventual end of slavery, both on Long Island and in New York State.This exhibition is part of LIM’s America250 celebration, featuring special exhibitions and related programming.

About The Book:

Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth (Liss) by Claire Bellerjeau. In January 1785, a young African American slave named Elizabeth was put on board the Lucretia in New York Harbor, bound for Charleston, where she would be sold to her fifth master in just 22 years. Leaving behind a small child she had little hope of ever seeing again, Elizabeth was faced with the stark reality of being sold south to a life quite different from any she had known before. She had no idea that Robert Townsend, a son of the family she was enslaved by, would locate her, safeguard her child, and return her to New York – nor how her story would help turn one of America’s first spies into a fierce abolitionist. Robert Townsend is best known as one of George Washington’s most trusted spies, but few know the story of his development into a fierce abolitionist. As Robert and Elizabeth’s story unfolds, prominent figures from history cross their path, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benedict Arnold, John André and John Adams; as well as participants in the Boston Massacre, the Sons of Liberty, the Battle of Long Island, Franklin’s Paris negotiations, and the Benedict Arnold treason plot.

Museum Passes

Please note, if you are visiting the museum any other time, we offer free passes. More information on our Museum Pass Collection.

Have questions?

Please contact Emma Yohannan at eyohannan@emmaclark.org or call 631-941-4080.

Library & Museum Partner for Three Events This Spring

Lisa DeVerna — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 16:55:05 +0000

Setauket, NY – February 14, 2019 –

Emma Clark Library and The Long Island Museum have once again partnered to offer unique events for visitors of all ages. These are one-of-a-kind reading experiences, where the museum exhibit enhances conversations about the books, and the Library and Museum are thrilled to bring these events to their visitors.

Kids in grades 4 – 6 and their parents/grandparents/caregivers are welcome to join a collaborative book club, which will meet at the Museum on Sunday, April 7 from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. It will begin with a tour of the exhibit Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island with a member of the Long Island Museum’s educational team. Afterwards, Emma Clark Librarians Carol Denby and Irene Ericksson will lead a book discussion on Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, a historical fiction novel about a slave in New York City during the Revolutionary War. This book discussion is open to Three Village residents and Long Island Museum members only, and those interested should register in-person at the Library beginning Saturday, March 2 (books will be supplied at the time of registration).

For the adults, there will be two events this spring. On Thursday, April 25 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., there will be a tour of the exhibit Long Road to Freedom, led by a museum educator, followed by a conversation about Kathleen Velsor’s The Underground Railroad on Long Island with Emma Clark Librarian Carolyn Emerson. Registration is open to both residents and nonresidents of Three Village, and those interested must register online at emmaclark.org or by calling the Adult Reference Desk at 631.941.4080 ext. 127 by March 15 in order to receive the book.

In honor of Walt Whitman’s Bicentennial, the Library and the Museum will be hosting a Read-In and Curator’s Tour of Walt Whitman’s Arcadia: Long Island Through the Eyes of a Poet & Painters at the Carriage House of the Long Island Museum on Thursday, May 16 from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. Registrants will be given the opportunity to listen to and participate in reading of Whitman’s poems, especially those which celebrate Long Island. Suffolk Poets Laureate Gladys Henderson and George Wallace will each read a Whitman poem, sharing why it’s meaningful to them. Following the readings, Professor Susan Scheckel, Professor of English at Stony Brook University, will speak briefly about Whitman’s relationship with art, before the group moves to the Art Gallery for a tour of the exhibit led by Museum Curator Joshua Ruff. Registration is open to both residents and nonresidents of Three Village, but must be done by May 1, either online at emmaclark.org or by calling the Adult Reference Desk at 631.941.4080 ext. 127. Those who wish to receive the poetry selections should provide an email address when registering. For those who wish to be a reader, they must email Librarian Carolyn Emerson, carolyn@emmaclark.org.

Emma Clark Library also offers free passes to the Long Island Museum for Library patrons. For more information, visit emmaclark.org/museum-passes.

For questions on the kids program, please email kids@emmaclark.org or call 631.941.4080 ext. 123. If you have any questions about the adult programs, please email askus@emmaclark.org or call 631.941.4080 ext. 127.

The Long Island Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate and located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook, is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages with an understanding and enjoyment of American art, history and carriages as expressed through the heritage of Long Island and its diverse communities.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District. “The Heart of the Three Village Community”

long island museum – Emma S. Clark Memorial Library