From staff reports
FRANKLIN – Local author and historian Margo Mong will present the program “The Assassin and the Actress: John Wilkes Booth and Laura Keene in the Oil Region” on April 14. Hosted by Franklin Preservation in celebration of the upcoming restoration of the Venango County Civil War Monument, the program will be held at 7 PM at DeBence Antique Music World in Franklin.
On April 15, 1865 residents of the Oil Region were shocked to learn that President Lincoln was dead. He had been assassinated by Booth the previous night in Ford’s Theatre during the play “Our American Cousin” starring Laura Keene. Mong will relate the story of Booth’s venture as an oil speculator in local oil fields and of Laura Keene’s 1873 tour of the Oil Region displaying her dress with blood from Lincoln’s head wound.
A special feature of the evening will be Steve Johnson and John Tenney of the Venango Brigade performing music from the American Civil War. The program will be held in the third floor ballroom, which is accessible by elevator. There is no charge to attend, but donations to help maintain the Civil War Monument will be accepted. Light refreshments will be served.
