Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie will host a two-part Saturday afternoon lecture series by award-winning author and presidential historian Louis Picone on July 8 and 15. Both programs will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and will include a Q&A and a book signing reception. Trenton City Museum is in historic Cadwalader Park, accessible by car from Parkside Ave. The museum offers plenty of building-adjacent parking. Reservations of $25 ($20 for TMS members) cover the entire two-part series. Please reserve tickets in advance at ellarslie.org/presidents-talks
The two-part series will feature the following conversations:
- Saturday, July 8, 2-4 p.m.: The President Is Dead! Assassinations, Bloodletting, Medical Malpractice, and more dignified endings for the American Presidents
- Saturday, July 22, 2-4 p.m.: Presidents in the Garden State: Living, vacationing, and dying in New Jersey with a special focus on Trenton
Louis L. Picone is the award-winning author of Grant’s Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon, The President Is Dead! The Extraordinary Stories of the Presidential Deaths, Final Days, Burials, and Beyond, and Where the Presidents Were Born: The History & Preservation of the Presidential Birthplaces.
Louis is a member of the Authors Guild, the American Historical Association, the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Association, and is also a trustee on the board of the Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association in Caldwell, NJ. He holds a Master’s degree in history and teaches at William Paterson University.
Louis has spoken widely on the topic of the presidents and the places we commemorate them, including the White House Historical Association Presidential Sites Summit in Dallas; James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Ohio; and the international conference “U.S. Presidents and Russian Rulers” in Moscow. He has appeared on various media outlets including Time Magazine, C-Span, the BBC, NPR, and the Washington Post. Louis was also featured on the television program “American Mystery” on the Travel Channel to discuss the mystery of JFK’s missing brain.
The Trenton City Museum is housed in Ellarslie Mansion, an 1848 Italianate Villa in the heart of Trenton’s historic Cadwalader Park, which was designed by the legendary Frederick Law Olmsted. The building is owned by the City of Trenton and operated by the Trenton Museum Society, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2023. The museum’s programming explores and celebrates Trenton’s history and culture, showcases contemporary art, artists, and performers, and includes events, classes, and workshops for all ages. Open Fridays and Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. There is no admission fee, but donations are welcomed. Learn more by visiting ellarslie.org or by calling 609-989-1191.
