You are here

Home »

Join a number of Auburn’s historical sites for a virtual camp experience! The Cayuga Museum, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Seward House Museum, and Seymour Library are teaming up to bring history to life for children approximately ages 8-10. Campers will be provided kits with a week’s worth of activities and supplies, all of which will be used through the online guidance of site staff.

Due to our First Friday event from 5-8PM, the 4 o'clock tour is no longer available. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

The Seward House Museum is pleased to announce the return of First Friday! We are so excited to start this First Friday season off on a high note as we feature art by Arthur the Artist in our gift shop and a live musical performance by Brian Francis in our gardens! We will be having one room in the Museum open for interpretation, and will be providing refreshments. We look forward to seeing you there as we welcome the return of summer! 

William Henry Seward was no stranger to the shadowy world of espionage. As Secretary of State during the Civil War, he built a massive intelligence-gathering spy ring abroad to thwart Confederate influence. But at the same time, a network of southern operatives were busily working against him. Few were more intriguing or powerful than Rose Greenhow. Once a Washington socialite and personal friend of Seward’s, she dramatically set herself against him once the war began.

Mr. Seward spent his 68th birthday with an usual houseguest: Swiss portrait artist Frank Buscher. It was May 1869, and Seward had just retired from Washington and returned home to Auburn. Buchser spent those first months by his side while completing his own project: a tour of America spent painting Civil War scenes. Among other sights, he captured Generals Robert E. Lee and William T. Sherman, scenes from the wartorn countryside, and former Secretary of State Seward. Today the SHM has a few pieces from Buchser’s period of residence, while other portraits made their way back to Switzerland.

New York State Council on the Arts

The 4 o'clock tour is no longer available due to pre scheduled programming. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Take your lunch break in New York City’s Seward Park! Seward Park Librarian Andrew Fairweather leads a virtual tour of one of the world's most storied neighborhoods-- and one that, not coincidentally, was named after William Henry Seward. Andrew will lead us through Seward Park itself (the first municipal park in U.S. history) and its surrounding neighborhood.

Come join representatives from the Seward House Museum and the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site live on Facebook as they discuss the coordinated attack led by John Wilkes Booth and a band of conspirators, which would result in a night of bloodshed throughout the Capitol. From the assassinations of President Lincoln in the Presidential Suite of Ford's Theatre, to the attack on the bedridden Secretary of State William H. Seward in his Washington, D.C house that would leave five people wounded, learn both about the night of April 14th and the tragic legacy left in its wake.

Celebrate Women's History Month with this virtual tour as SHM staff provide an intimate portrait into the lives of the ladies of several generations of the Seward family. Drawing on their personal diaries and letters, and featuring a peek into the SHM's newest exhibit, "The Vote," the tour will connect the Sewards with the company they kept in the women’s rights and anti-slavery movements of the 19th century.

The virtual tour will premier on the SHM's FB page at 11am on Friday, March 19th. 

Pages