Stratford Mail

About Stratford Mail

Finally, a history podcast for folks on the go! Who can spare an hour these days? Give us about 20 minutes, and we'll inform and entertain you! From Stratford Hall Historic Preserve in Westmoreland County, Virginia, join Vice President of Research and Collections Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey as he reads over the shoulder of letter-writers of yesteryear. What to expect? Once a month we feature an historical letter from a onetime resident, associate, ally, or friend of Stratford Hall. Whether the topic is wine, crossing the Delaware, ghosts, or fanciful hats, you'll learn what life on the ground looked like from those who lived the moments that make up our difficult and beloved past. And maybe you'll discover something about your present in our past! If you don't have more than 20 minutes, and you love history, discover Stratford Mail. And share it with your friends!

Publisher

Stratford Hall Historic Preserve, Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey, Director of Research

Category

education · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Jan 2023

Latest episode

16 May 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 May 2026

   The Last Adieu

   Send us Fan Mail 250 years ago today a fuse was lit in Virginia, where a rogue assembly approved a set of earth-shaking instructions for its delegates in the Continental Congress. The detonation took time, time to traverse the miles from Williamsburg to Philadelphia, time to persuade and prepare the people and their representatives to risk a new political adventure, and time to drag the holdouts across the line. Join us this month on Stratford Mail as we recall the last adieu to the British C...

2. 

   28 Feb 2026

   Choice Spirits

   Send a text 260 years ago, a merchant on the banks of the Rappahannock River threatened to undermine strategic non-compliance with the Stamp Act. He needed stamped paper to offload a cargo of perishable grain. He intended only to obey the law. Many in the community viewed that law as a violation of their constitutional rights and liberty. The Lee brothers stepped forward to express and enforce the will of the community on this recalcitrant merchant. Organizing a heavily armed private militia,...

3. 

   29 Dec 2025

   Take Nobody's Word

   Send us a text In 1662, the Royal Society of London adopted a motto that promised a revolution: Nullius in verba—or, on the word of no one. It was a bold renunciation of authority in favor of evidence, yet behind this polished veneer of the Enlightenment lay a messier reality marked by class-coded science and imperial gatekeeping. Even as Society president Sir Isaac Newton modeled dispassionate inquiry, the institution came to operate as a passionate apparatus for elite privilege and British ...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

28

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60

Contact Stratford Mail

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.