April’s a good month for local history buffs on a budget – Plan now to attend two FREE historical programs taking place in Richmond next month:

On April 4-5, various downtown venues will be hosting “Steps Toward Freedom: Lincoln’s Walk in Richmond.”

Retrace Abraham Lincoln’s steps on his visit to Richmond in April 1865, just a few days after the city’s fall to Union forces.

As part of the bicentennial year celebrating Lincoln’s birth, the Valentine Richmond History Center, the National Park Service, the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar and the Library of Virginia present a two-day program that will consider the symbolic nature of the occasion which marked both the near-end of a bloody armed conflict and the promise of freedom for enslaved African Americans.

Particularly interesting to me is the self-guided walking tour of downtown Richmond on Sunday afternoon. It features “stationed interpretation along the route traveled by Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad on their visit to Richmond on April 4, 1865.”

No registration required.

And on Wednesday April 29 at the University of Richmond, Dr. Edward L. Ayers will chair a free day-long conference titled “America on the Eve of Civil War,”

Register today for the first in a series of annual Signature Conferences sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Dr. Edward L. Ayers will bring together nationally-recognized Civil War historians for an open dialogue about the state of the country in 1859. What was happening two years before the firing of the first shots in the nation’s deadliest conflict? What did people know and what were they thinking? Could they possibly have imagined the horror that was to come?

“America on the Eve of the Civil War” brings a fresh perspective on enduring issues. The program will be conducted in an interactive format with speakers from varied perspectives. Akin to news programs like “Face the Nation” and “Meet the Press,” speakers will discuss events of 1859 and their effect, limiting themselves only to what would have been known at that time.

Topics include “Taking Stock of the Nation in 1859,” “The Future of Virginia and the South,” “Making Sense of John Brown’s Raid,” and “Predictions for the Election of 1860.” Conference-goers also qualify for discounted admission at a number of local museums, and a special State Capitol tour. Register here ASAP to reserve your spot.