Stone Fort Days 2019 – 1779: Living in the Eye of the Storm
Experience something Revolutionary at the Old Stone Fort Museum on Saturday and Sunday, October 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Stone Fort Days, a weekend full of immersive, living history re-enactments and activities for the entire family!
Hands-on workshops, engaging living historians and interactive programming provide the opportunity for visitors to roll up their sleeves and get in on the action, bringing the history of the New York frontier to life.
The biggest event of the year at the Old Stone Fort Museum, Stone Fort Days 2019 will focus on life in the Schoharie Valley 240 years ago, in the midst of the American War for Independence.
In addition to military skirmishes and full-scale, narrated battle re-enactments, there will be programs on Revolutionary-era social life, agriculture and farming, medicine, homemaking, the Iroquois, crafts, trades, toys, games and more. There will even be an opportunity to learn about “death head buttons” and make your own “heart” pincushion.
Historical vignettes, demonstrating the daily trials and tribulations of daily life in Revolutionary Schoharie, will include mock trials of loyalist spies, a loyalist property confiscation and sale and a traditional church service on Sunday morning.
Period music will be provided by Liaisons Plaisantes and the delicious smells of open fire cooking will join smoked barbecue as Rubbin Butts serves up some of their specialties out of the snack shack. See the Full Menu Here
Guests will also have the opportunity to sample traditional sweet treats, including shortbread, jumbles and the always popular Joe Frogger cookies, provided by the members of the Schoharie Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Event goers will also be able to learn about the process of beer making and how it evolved from the 1700s to today at the Green Wolf Brewery tent, then sample some of their 1700s style beer “Fort Defyance.”
Ongoing activities throughout both days will include 18th century children’s games, toys and crafts, candle dipping, spinning and weaving, needlework, Scherenschnitte (paper cutting), children’s musket drills and the opportunity to tour the British and American camps, get a look inside the tents and see artisans and merchants at work in their trades.
In the Badgley Museum Annex view the works of local fine artist Jonathan Stasko in his special Stone Fort Days Recounting Courage Exhibition!
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, special guest Jennifer DeBruin, author, historian and loyalist descendant, will present “Traitors, Spies & Heroes” a look at loyalist espionage during the American Revolution. Visiting all the way from Canada, DeBruin will also be on hand from 2 to 3 p.m. signing copies of her books “Daughter of Conflict”, “Shadows in the Tree” and “A Walk with Mary.”
Admission to the event is $10 for both days and includes admission to the entire museum complex. Anyone under the age of 18 is free with adult supervision.
