News and Events

On October 28, 2026, at 6:30 PM ET, the Allen County Public Library is hosting Tonya McQuade via Zoom. Hear the story of how Tonya McQuade’s new book, A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and…

Join us as we welcome New York Times Best Selling author and national journalist Lois Romano to talk about her book An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln. This event will be offered both in…

Was John Brown really the meteor of the Civil War, catapulting the nation into its greatest crisis? Join us on August 19 for a free virtual program and discover the fascinating story of John Brown! Missed the event? Watch here:…

New spotlight exhibit open at The Rolland Center for Lincoln Research! As the last living connection to President Abraham Lincoln, his son Robert Todd Lincoln cared for his grieving mother, attended memorial events, and helped preserve the martyred president’s legacy.…

Missed the event? Dead Letter Office Images: The Civil War’s Lost Sentiments During the Civil War years, hundreds of thousands of soldiers wrote letters home, many containing card-sized photos of themself. By the end of the conflict, thousands of letters…

Missed the event? Douglass Sizes Up Lincoln: From Fierce Critic to Great Admirer Drawing on speeches and letters by Frederick Douglass, some to British abolitionists that have not been seen since they were first written, the lecture presents an account…

Join us to discover how the four Lincoln sons experienced childhood, family, and legacy against the backdrop of a rapidly changing nation.

Free Temporary Exhibit April 6, 2026 August 11, 2026 Scandal in the Capital: Whispers in Wartime In a city where rumors could destroy reputations overnight, scandal revealed how the Civil War touched every corner of Washington society. A new temporary…

A new free temporary exhibit explores how two 1860s magazines covered the self-emancipation of enslaved Americans.

A new, free exhibit at the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research explores President Abraham Lincoln’s family life at home.

Join us for an exploration of women’s evolving roles in the nineteenth century. This program was held on December 10, 2025.

With “Mourning Lincoln,” Dr. Martha Hodes explores reactions to Lincoln’s death, which astounded a war-weary nation.

2025 McMurtry Lecture featured Steve Inskeep discussing his book “Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America.”

At the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research in the Allen County Public Library’s Main downtown location, we’re highlighting a strength of the Lincoln Collection: Abraham Lincoln mourning artifacts. Upon Lincoln’s death at the hands of an assassin on April 15,…

Exploring Lincoln's Leadership with Differ We Must presented by Jessie Cortesi and Abbie Meek. Join us on Zoom at 6:00 pm ET!