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Fighting to Govern Ourselves

Ideas lead to action and when American colonists took up arms against a tyrant for the purposes of governing themselves, the impact of that rebellion had a profound effect on the people of the shoreline. That story will be shared in a talk by authors Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson sponsored by the Old Saybrook Historical Society, in cooperation with Acton Public Library, on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. The public is invited and there is no charge.

Those seeds of rebellion began with the self-governing ideas planted in the 1600s in Saybrook Colony, and were nurtured by ill-conceived efforts by King George III to rein in these Colonial settlers who were determined to govern themselves.

Residents of the Lymes opposed the Stamp Act and hosted their own Tea Party, burning one hundred pounds of British tea near the Old Lyme Town Green. When the alarm came from Lexington in 1775, citizens from Lyme and other shoreline towns were among the first to respond.

Historians Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson have chronicled this important story in their most recent publication, Revolution in the Lymes. They have also written Remarkable Women of Old Lyme, and Rum Runners, Governors, Beachcombers & Socialists: Views of the Beaches in Old Lyme.

After their talk, books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information, call the Old Saybrook Historical Society at 860-395-1635.