Friends of History Camp

Donate now at the $200 level and join our 2026 “Friends of History Camp” group.

• Name in the session guide for History Camp Boston 2026.
• Name on signage at History Camp Boston 2026.
• Name listed on the Friends of History Camp page (below).
• The 2026 pin. (See photo at right.)
• An invitation to our annual Friends of History Camp reception on Friday evening before History Camp Boston 2026, held at Hampshire House exclusively for that year’s Friends of History Camp. (Photos below.)

Become a 2026 Friend of History Camp with your donation of $200 as a single donation or through a recurring donation. If you believe that your name should be added to our list below based on your one-time or recurring donation, please contact Lee Wright.

History Camp is a project of the non-profit organization The Pursuit of History, which is entirely privately funded through individual donations. The organization receives no government funding of any kind.

2026 Friends of History Camp Reception at the Hampshire House on Beacon Hill

After such a lovely evening in 2025, we’re going back to the beautiful and historic Hampshire House in Boston for our reception on the Friday night before History Camp 2026.

If you are a member of our 2026 Friends of History Camp group (see below for members), we look forward to seeing you. If your name is not listed below and you believe it should be based on your year-end 2025 donation, donation during 2026, or monthly donation over the last 12 months, contact Lee Wright.

If you have not registered for History Camp Boston 2026, you can add your additional donation when you register.

If you have registered and want to add your donation, please contact Jessica Rossi.

Date: Friday, August 7, 2026

Time: 5:30 PM

Location: Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street, Boston, MA [Parking available at the Boston Commons Garage, bring your ticket to the front desk for validation.]

Join us for an elegant gathering featuring light hors d’oeuvres, good company, and a chance to connect with others who believe in creating a place where people who love history can share ideas, learn new things, and have fun. This exclusive event is our way of expressing gratitude to those who make our work possible.

We hope to see you there!

Please reach out to jessica@thepursuitofhistory.org with any questions about this 2026 Friends event.

2026 Friends of History Camp

Updated August 3, 2026 at 3:30 pm.  If your name should be included above based on a one-time or continuing donation, please send a note to Lee Wright.

Become a Friend of History Camp 2026 with your donation of $200 in 2026 as a single donation or through a recurring donation.

History Camp is a project of the non-profit organization The Pursuit of History, a registered non-profit devoted to bringing people from all walks of life together around history.

2025 Friends of History Camp

2024 Friends of History Camp

Last updated July 31, 2024

Become a Friend of History Camp 2024 with your donation of $150 in 2024 as a single donation or through a recurring donation.

History Camp is a project of the non-profit organization The Pursuit of History, a registered non-profit devoted to bringing people from all walks of life together around history.

About the 2024 Friends of History Camp Pin

This pin (pictured above) depicts a stone tower that stands atop a hill in Somerville, Massachusetts, in an area that used to be part of Charlestown. It was built early in the 1700s as a windmill. In 1747, as the British Empire was at war against France and Spain, people realized that the tower could be useful for storing gunpowder. It stood at a distance from houses, and the stone walls would direct the force of any explosion up through a light wooden roof into the air.

There never was a gunpowder explosion at this site, but what happened there on September 1, 1774, set off a political upheaval. Gen. Thomas Gage, the royal governor, was trying to tamp down resistance to the Massachusetts Government Act and other Coercive Acts. As governor, he commanded the provincial military. Gage decided to move the militia’s gunpowder from that tower into Boston before it could slip into the hands of the resistance. At dawn on the morning of September 1, redcoat soldiers quietly entered the tower and removed all the powder.

News of that action—and dire exaggerated rumors about the British military attacking civilians—spread west. Overnight, men gathered in their town militia companies and marched toward Boston. On September 2, an estimated 5,000 militiamen thronged into Cambridge, demanding that every royal appointee in town resign. Historians later dubbed this event the “Powder Alarm.” By the end of that day, it was clear that Governor Gage no longer exercised any authority in the province outside of Boston. For all practical purposes, the rest of Massachusetts was independent of royal control.

Read more about the timeline of events in our handout from our Spring 2024 3-day program about 1774, The Pursuit of History: Rebellion in New England.

2023 Friends of History Camp