Exhibitions
Plan Your Visit
Step into an exhibition and see history come alive.
Pequot Library Exhibitions bring daring ideas, rare materials, and unexpected stories into the public eye. Whether exploring a 17th‑century Shakespeare Folio, Connecticut’s abolitionist print culture, or children’s books that shaped American identity, each exhibition draws on the Library’s rich collections and invites community members of all ages to explore, reflect, and connect.
By pairing scholarship with immersive interpretation and cultural programs, the Library underscores its mission to bring literature, art, science and the humanities into everyday life by encouraging curiosity, enriching our community, and celebrating the power of knowledge in a historic place.
Current Exhibition
Beyond the Battlefield: The Pequot Swamp Fight in Public Memory
How do we choose to remember the past? This place-based exhibition invites visitors to explore how the 1637 Munnacommock (Pequot) Swamp Fight has been commemorated across the local landscape—through place names, monuments, historical markers, and memorials. From the 1637 date carved above Pequot Library’s iconic arches to the fountain anchoring Southport’s historic center, these familiar features carry deeper, often overlooked histories.
Drawing on archival photographs, newspapers, and correspondence, Beyond the Battlefield examines how narratives of the Pequot War have been constructed, contested, and reshaped over time. The exhibition reveals the complex interplay between history, memory, identity, and power—raising important questions about who gets remembered, how, and why.
Part of a broader series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this exhibition challenges visitors to reconsider how the stories we tell about the past reflect the values of the present.
Pequot Library is a proud affiliate of America 250 | Connecticut Commission, the statewide initiative commemorating the Semiquincentennial—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—next July 4. In the lead-up to this historic milestone, we’ve planned a series of programs that highlight diverse American voices and perspectives.
Pictured: The rededication of Southport’s Swamp Fight Memorial Fountain in the 1960s.
A look back at the exhibitions that have celebrated discovery, creativity, and community at Pequot Library.
Explore all our past exhibitions!
