from Daniel Boone Homestead
The Daniel Boone Homestead will host the Heritage Day Fall Festival on Sunday, Oct. 20, from noon to 4 p.m.
The Daniel Boone Homestead Associates are excited to celebrate the arrival of fall with the Homestead’s annual Heritage Day event. We are also thrilled to be debuting our new blacksmith shop bellows as part of this event, as well as partnering with the Exeter Friends Meetinghouse for open house tours. Heritage Day features a variety of 18th-century demonstrations, trades, and hands-on activities. These include gunsmithing, blacksmithing, open-hearth cooking, spinning and wool dyeing, quill pen writing, candle dipping, leatherworking, and the apothecary and surgeon. The ever-popular colonial musician Bob Mouland will be returning this year, and visitors can watch a demonstration of the historic Bertolet Sawmill. The event will also feature craft and specialty food vendors as well as fall activities for children like pumpkin painting.
In the Boone House, volunteers will be cooking a hearty meal over the hearth, while Bob Mouland treats guests to colonial music in the English parlor. Visitors can also tour the Boone House and spring cellar and learn about the three families who lived there during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Throughout the historic area, visitors can learn about the detailed work of a leatherworker and the skillful work of a gunsmith. Zimmerman Forge will be demonstrating blacksmithing with the newly installed bellows in the Blacksmith Shop. Make sure to visit the Apothecary presentation featuring a display of period medical instruments and learn about the role of the doctor and surgeon during the 18th century. Volunteers will also be demonstrating textile processing, wool dyeing, spinning, and quilting, and visitors will have the unique opportunity to tour the three-room Bertolet Log House.
During the afternoon, visitors will also have a chance to see the Bertolet Sawmill in action. The Sawmill is one of only three operating water-powered vertical blade sawmills in the United States. It was moved to the Homestead in 1972 from its original location in the Oley Valley. In addition to demonstrations and trades, there will be a variety of 18th-century hands-on activities for children and adults to enjoy, including candle dipping, quill pen writing, and colonial toys and games. The Exeter Friends Meetinghouse will be offering open house tours throughout the afternoon as well.
Located a little over two miles from the Homestead at 191 Meetinghouse Road, Douglassville, the Meetinghouse is where the Quaker Boone family would have attended monthly meetings. The original log structure frequented by the Boones was replaced by the current stone structure in 1759. Admission: Adults $12.00, Seniors (65+) $10.00, and Youth (6-17) $5.00. Children 5 and under and DBHA members are free. Please, no pets except service animals, and no smoking. Visit our website: www.thedanielboonehomestead.org or our Facebook page at Daniel Boone Homestead for up-to-date details. The event is presented and funded by The Daniel Boone Homestead Associates.
