Ruins and Antiquities in 19th-Century America" (March 12–13). In a fledgling nation, ruins helped reassure Americans of their own antiquity. This scholarly conference explored the “necessity for ruins” and how it helped America cope with the modern pace of change. In this talk, Sam Truett discusses ruins, lost worlds, and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Thomas G. Andrews discusses the history of coal in the American West. Andrews is author of “Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War,” published by Harvard University Press and the winner of the 2009 Bancroft Prize. He spoke at the conference “Ed Shannon’s West,” sponsored jointly by The Huntington and the Autry National Center.

Richard White spoke about Indians and the Railroads at the conference “Ed Shannon’s West,” sponsored jointly by The Huntington and the Autry National Center. White has since published the book “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals ad the Making of Modern America” (2011). He is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University.

Elliott West spoke about Indians and Yellowstone at the conference “Ed Shannon’s West,” sponsored jointly by The Huntington and the Autry National Center. He is the author, most recently, of “The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story” (2009). He is Alumni Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Arkansas.

Writers Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Sara Bard Field advocated, and practiced, free love as one element of their commitment to anarchistic politics. Sherry Smith, professor of history at Southern Methodist University and the Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow for 2009-10, examines the interplay between what they preached and what they practiced in early 20th-century Oregon and California.

Conflict and conquest have long defined the history of the American West. But what of events shaped by concord? Stephen Aron explores episodes in which peoples put aside their differences and the lessons we might take from them.

In the spring of 1949, a three-year-old girl fell into an abandoned well shaft while playing near her home in San Marino. For more than 24 hours, local television stations KTTV and KTLA covered the unsuccessful rescue attempt, making it one of the first news events in the nation to be televised outside the station. At year’s end, The New York Times referred to the tragic death of Kathy Fiscus as the single most significant photographic event of 1949. Deverell explores the accident and aftermath, touching on the social and economic history of the region while also explaining how the tragedy revealed both the permanence and vulnerabilities of community. A Haynes Foundation Lecture.