Join us for a private tour of the exhibit The Seat of Action: Long Island in the American Revolution and Beyond at the Long Island Museum. Running through October of this year, the exhibit tells the stories of the lives of people affected by the conflict at all levels of society. Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director, Collections and Programming, is our guide.

You'll find some familiar faces along with new insights, mysteries, and revelations. There's the sword of loyalist Richard Hewlett, passed down through the same family over decades. There are muskets that Long Islanders carried into war. Belt buckles and ammo unearthed from British forts, portraits of the formerly enslaved, and of course a Culper Spy letter (from Benjamin Tallmadge to Robert Townsend). Along the way Joshua explains the challenges and opportunities this type of exhibit entails, working with the Museum's own collections as well as historical societies, libraries, and private collectors.

The result is a rich experience that is the perfect capstone to this 250th anniversary year of the American Revolution and Long Island history.

Further Research

• The Seat of Action: Long Island in the American Revolution and Beyond
• Samson Occom
• Don Troiani
• Revolutionary Incidents in Huntington: Occupation & Resistance
• Audio Footnotes
  • David Bunn Martin and the Shinnecock (episode 29)
  • David Griffin and British Forts (episode 137)
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

There are untold stories of the American Revolution. We've highlighted many that took place on Long Island but today we follow a remarkable life that started on Long Island in the mid 18th century but wound up in the heart of empire during truly tumultuous times.

Patience Wright was born a Quaker (and a relative of the Townsend family) in Oyster Bay. She had a talent for sculpting and her medium was the wax figure. Her museum in New York City was a popular attraction, featuring lifelike replicas of notable figures. After disaster struck, this widowed mother with four children moved to London and quickly established herself as a local celebrity. Her new museum became a destination for all walks of life. Filled with conviction for the American cause, Patience made no secret of her views and support (although she was not above a little espionage as well).

Dr. Zara Anishanslin has documented Patience's story, along with other artists on both sides of the Atlantic who championed the Revolution, in her book The Painter's Fire (Harvard University Press). On today's episode, we discuss Patience's decidedly unique personality, her Quaker upbringing, the inherent flammability of wax, and the world of London during the height of the American Revolution.

Further Research

• The Painters Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the Revolution
• Dr. Zara Anishanslin
• William Pitt and Family (Westminster Abbey)
• Thing4Things (Apple Podcasts)
• Audio Footnotes
  • "The Death of Woodhull: An American Ballad" (episode 29)
  • Kerriann Flnagan Brosky (episode 80)
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Consider the pickle. Whether sour or sweet, sliced or speared, it's a seasoned veteran vegetable with a story to tell. New York plays a big part in that tale, as does Long Island. Today we reach deep into the barrel of food history and talk with Paul van Ravestein, co-author along with Monique Mulder of The Pickled City: The Story of New York Pickles (Princeton Architectural Press 2026).

Paul takes us from the pushcarts and crowded streets of the lower east side to the cucumber farms and pickle factories flanking the Long Island Rail Road in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Along the way we detail the role of the pickle in the economic, social, and culinary history of the region. Syosset, Farmingdale, Greenlawn and other places all had their "pickle kings" who profited from the pickle. Before, enabling a lucrative industry and legacy that lived on well into the 20th century.

Further Research

• The Pickled City: The Story of New York Pickles (Amazon)
• Mattmo Creative Agency
• Street Food City (Museum of Food and Drink)
• Audio Footnotes
  • Farmingdale Local History (and Stern's Pickles)
  • The Long Island Seed Consortium
• Intro Music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0