24—Lancaster Farmini
Visitors Invited To
See Colonial Plantation
Slowly, but surely, in a
comer of Delaware County’s
Ridley Creek State Park, the
“Colonial Pennsylvania
Plantation" is taking shape
as a major Bicentennial
project, a living example of
18th century farm life.
Supported by the Bicen
tennial Commission of
Pennsylvania and Delaware
County, along with local
groups and businesses, the
project was conceived by the
Bishop.’s Mill Historical
Institute and is designed to
have visitors participate in
colonial life.
A family will live on the
plantation year-round,
working the land and living
as farmers in 18th century
Pennsylvania did.
Visitors can take a tour of
the plantation - as farms
were generally called the -
but are welcome to stay
much longer. Right now the
process of becoming a
working farm museum is
still an on-going thing, so
visitors to the plantation can
watch the workers, mostly
volunteers, as they restore
the buildings, dig up broken
pots and other artifacts, tend
the animals and gardens,
and experiment with 18th
century recipes. Some even
wind up staying to help out.
When the reconstruction
work is fmished, the plan
tation will consist of a far
mhouse, spring house, bam,
plantation store, smoke
house, and wagon shed, plus
fields of flax, rye, com, an
orchard, and all the animals
normally found on an 18th
century Pensylvania farm.
Visitors will be able to help
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PAGE 41
LOOKING FOR WORK...
ALL KINDS.
FORD
ALL-PURPOSE TRACTORS
See the tractors that
WORK for a living...at
Saturday. August 24. 1
the family with the daily
chores, from feeding the
animals to spinning wool, if
they wish. They will also be
able to Join in their story
telling sessions, fiddle and
bagpipe playing, and
singing.
A brochure and map is now
being prepared to give
visitors historical in
formation and to enable
them to take a self-guided
tour of the plantation.
According to Dr. Jay
Anderson, director of the
project, “What we want to do
here is to tell the story- of
ordinary people in colonial
America. Everyone com
memorates the rich and
famous, but what about the
vast majority of the people,
the ordinary farmers and
workers? In fact, this land
belonged to a succession of
typical farmers, no one you
would’ve read about
anywhere - sort of the
prototype of today’s average
American.
“When I say, ‘typical
farmers’ though, I really
include everyone on the farm
-- husband, wife, and
children. Each played a very
important role here. Colonial
women had to be strong and
worked just as hard as the
men did, and children
started working at an early
age.”
The aim of the “Colonial
Pennsylvania Plantation” is
to be the most accurate
colonial re-creation in
America.
“When visitors come here,
and ask us, Ts this really the
way it was then? ’, we want to
be able to say to them, ‘Yes,
it is as close as you’ll ever
get to the real thing,’ ” said
Anderson. “That’s why we
have to proceed slowly and
carefully in our work.”
They have done, and are
doing, extensive ar
cheological digs. The
ALLEN H.
MATZ, INC.
505 E Mam St
New Holland, Pa
Ph. 354-2214
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Archeology Society has
made the Plantation their
Bicentennial project. Mr.
Donald Callender is the
Plantation’s “resident ar
cheologist” or research
director.
“Callender specializes in
experimental archeology,”
explained Anderson. “That
means recreating a situation
- such as this whole farm, or
the spring house he is now
involved in restoring - then
using it as it would have been
used, and seeing what
happens. In fact, this whole
plantation will be a research
center, finding out how
people lived then by re-living
it.”
In an effort to have the
physical aspects of the farm
as accurate as possible, the
workers are removing all the
modem conveniences. Since
the farm was lived in until
1966, the work and research
involved is considerable.
Not only will the buildings
be as close to the original as
possible, so will the living
things.
“we are trying to obtain
animals and plants as close
as possible to the 18th cen
truy strains and varieties,”
said Anderson.
To help defray some of the
costs of the project the
Plantation is asking nominal
donations from visitors - 75
cents for adults, 25 cents for
children.
Anderson emphasized that
the plantation will not be a
“Do Not Touch” kind of
museum. “We try not to use
antiques here, because they
are too valuable. If we need a
tool, for instance, we make it
ourselves, either copying a
ntiques or from a book. This
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way nothing will be too
valuable to break, and
people won’t be afraid to
touch things or to try things
out.”
Some of the tools that
workers on the plantation
have already made include
bow saws, a shingle froe
(used in splitting logs into
shingles), shingle horse
i- t
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*^3,
Jay Anderson, director of the "Plantation"
shows off the wooden harrow the group has
made by hand.
(used to hold the shingle for tools and other projects is
finishing), harrow and plow, done at a forge on the
Special metalwork for these [ Continued On Page 25]
FARMERS
For Increased Yield and Protein
in Your Alfalfa, Apply
SURE CROP
Plant Food 7-14-7
With Trace Elements with
Your Weevil Spray Program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call 717-469-2864
or write
P.O. Box 129, Hershey, Pa. 17033
Representatives Needed.
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