Madam Brett Homestead

07/21/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HMEtGdQNT/

07/17/2026

07/17/2026

Visit Beacon's Treasure - The Madam Brett Homestead
July 18 1:00 - 4:00 pm -- Walk Through Tour!
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/beacons-treasure-the-madam-brett-homestead

07/17/2026

With Urbanist Ariel – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

07/14/2026

A former president. A House floor. A shouted question that launched an eight-year fight.

When Congress passed the gag rule in 1836, automatically silencing all debate on slavery, John Quincy Adams refused to accept it. He introduced 100s of anti-slavery petitions from women, free black Americans, and enslaved people. The House tried to censure him. It failed. He introduced 1000s more. He even tried to have the Declaration of Independence read alongside one.

Every petition was tabled without debate.

On December 3, 1844, the gag rule was repealed.

BRI's A250 Mini Documentary covers the full arc, a perfect entry point for units on free speech, antebellum America, or what civic courage actually looks like in practice.

Watch it here: https://bit.ly/4wFm3Pg

07/14/2026

🇺🇸 On this Day, July 12, 1776: an important garrison in the Mohawk Valley is brought under American control.

Fort Stanwix had been a British fort strategically located along the Mohawk River, at a point where travelers had to portage their boats over land in order to find a new water route to the Great Lakes. It was originally constructed during the French and Indian War in order to protect British interests in the region but was later abandoned. With the advent of the Revolutionary War, the Oneida nation, a firm indigenous ally to the Patriot cause, encouraged the Americans to reoccupy the fort. This would help halt a potential invasion route from Canada into New York. By July 12, Colonel Elias Dayton and the 3rd New Jersey Regiment successfully brought Stanwix under their control and began to garrison the fort. They renamed it Fort Schuyler to honor the beloved New York general. In 1777, those new defenses were put to the test during the Siege of Fort Stanwix, a decisive moment for the fate of the Mohawk Valley.

[Image description: a map of Fort Schuyler/Stanwix and its surroundings during the later siege of 1777.]