Victoria Mansion is OPEN for Juneteenth. In observance of this holiday, we are offering a community day with free admission and a special program. Thank you to Kennebec Savings Bank for their support of our Free Admission Days.

We invite visitors and members of the public to join us on Victoria Mansion’s lawn at noon for a recitation by local actors of the Emancipation Proclamation, in commemoration of its reading in Galveston, TX on June 19, 1865. We will also honor and hold space for the twenty-seven individuals known to have been enslaved by Ruggles and Olive Morse in New Orleans, whose lives and journeys before, during, and after enslavement we continue to uncover and share with visitors.

Since 2021, our Unwilling Architects Initiative has prompted extensive research that has begun to discover much about these enslaved persons, whose uncompensated labor in Louisiana contributed to the fortune that built Victoria Mansion. Through this ongoing effort, we endeavor to shine a light on these individuals’ lives and bring their stories into the full human history of this landmark property.

Tour admission is free on Juneteenth, but reservations are encouraged due to museum capacity. To reserve your free admission on June 19th, please select the date on the calendar at the Plan Your Visit page, select the time you wish to visit from the dropdown menu, and then select the number of Juneteenth Admission tickets you wish to reserve. (For parties larger than 8 people, please call 207-772-4841.)

Learn more about the importance and observance of Juneteenth at Juneteenth.com and via the National Museum of African American History & Culture.