Latest installment of Museum on Main Street exhibit happening October 15 at E.N. Jencks Store Museum in Douglas

In honor of the 250th-anniversary-year of the “shot heard ‘round the world” the Douglas Historical Society will host a portrayal of the amazing true story of Deborah Sampson on Wednesday, October 15. A Massachusetts native, Deborah Sampson is the only woman known to have disguised herself as a man in order to serve as a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, all without getting caught. Meet the Massachusetts woman who managed to hoodwink George Washington’s army! 

The Deborah Sampson portrayal will run from 7-8 p.m. at the E.N. Jencks Store Museum at 283 Main St. Douglas, MA. Learn about close calls, mountainous obstacles, and head-scratching conundrums this poor farm girl faced while putting her life on the line in the fight for liberty. Without support from family or friends, she risked humiliation and imprisonment to help free the colonies from English rule.  

This portrayal of Sampson will offer a behind-the-scenes look at this principled, dangerous deception and the character of the humble rebel who pulled it off.

Janet Parnes of Historical Portrayals by Lady J, will portray Deborah Sampson. Ms. Parnes takes America’s heroines out of history’s dusty archives and brings them to life. (www.women-history.com).

Farm Girl on the Front Lines: Deborah Sampspn’s Secret! is one of the programs the Douglas Historical Society is offering as part of its Smithsonian Museum on Main Street Exhibit. The Exhibit is designed to generate conversations about life in small-town America as well as the pillars of American democracy that have supported the nation since Revolutionary times

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Douglas Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.