About the Aurora Ledyard Historical Society
The Village of Aurora Historical Society is now the Aurora Ledyard Historical Society, bridging the rich histories of Aurora and the Town of Ledyard.
Interested? Subscribe to our Mailing List
Check out our Winter 2025-26 Newsletter
Current and Upcoming Events
Debi Lampman's lettuce bed
photo by Debi
Patrick Tavern Market
Tuesday, May 19: Weekly Markets Start with Salads and Flowers!
Yes! The season will be off and running: weekly Tuesday markets at Patrick Tavern begin 4:30-5:30 p.m. on May 19. The first tender greens of spring are such a wonderful treat, and starting then you can satisfy that healthy craving. Debi Lampman put in fourteen dozen lettuce plants, and Julia will continue with delightful bagged greens. Look for more eggs, too; both chickens and ducks are in full production. Alicia will be on hand with sourdough and pizza crusts, plus a special bread each week, and Ron will be bringing his delicious honey (plus beeswax candles and more). Chocolate and coffee are on a break, getting organized for the Saturday markets.
If your fresh-frozen organic blueberries are running low, email glenda_neff@juno.com with how many 3# bags you want. She won’t make it in person, but has a couple of delivery options worked out.
The dinners were a big hit the last two months, too, and again, orders are important. Email Linda at lschwab.glebefarm@gmail.com if you’d like to be on the mailing list. Watch for more news on the May line-up, and be sure to stop by Patrick Tavern from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on May 19 and every week thereafter!
Ron’s beeswax candle
Past Events
News
# We have successfully moved and stored Walter Wood’s 1795 law office, which functioned as the first post office west of Canajoharie, New York. Read about the move in:
The Little Building Takes a Long Trip: A Serialized Adventure!
# Ely S. Parker, a Tonawanda Seneca who went to school in Aurora, was just admitted to the New York bar—176 years after he was denied admission because he was a Native American. Parker studied at the Cayuga Academy in Aurora, where he was sponsored by Lewis Henry Morgan, for many years known as “the Father of American anthropology” and a leading figure in the relatively new field. During the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant’s chose Parker to be his secretary. Drafts of Robert E. Lee’s surrender documents at Appomattox Court House are thus in Parker’s handwriting. After the war Grant appointed Parker Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to serve in that position.
CNN’s story of Ely Parker’s November 14, 2025 posthumous admission to the New York bar.
The story of Parker, Morgan, and the “Grand Order of the Iroquois” in Aurora on our website.
Ely Parker’s sister Caroline, an accomplished artist, also studied at the Cayuga Academy in Aurora. Morgan raised money to provide her and her Seneca friend Sarah Spring a year at the Academy. The Aurora Ledyard Historical Society recently devoted an exhibit in Historic Patrick Tavern (1793) to Caroline Parker’s life and work.
Announcements
Upcoming Meeting
Our next meeting is on Monday, May 18 at 4:30pm.
We hope you can join us, either in person at the Ledyard Town Hall or via Zoom.
If you are not already on our email list, please write to auroraledyardhistory@gmail.com so that we can send you the link to the meeting.