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`Living History Weekend` photo courtesy of Old Fort Niagara
"Living History Weekend" photo courtesy of Old Fort Niagara

Old Fort Niagara hosts 'Living History Weekend'

Submitted

Tue, Jul 20th 2021 04:45 pm

“Living History Weekend” at Old Fort Niagara, scheduled for July 31-August 1, will give visitors a glimpse of everyday life at a frontier outpost during the 18th century. Special offerings include blacksmithing demonstrations, historic cooking programs, 18th century laundry, soldier life and programs about the fur trade. The fort will also offer an interactive silversmithing program for families. From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., each day there will be a special program about the lives of military chaplains at French outposts.

Scheduled programs will include special tours of the fort’s underground casemates, musket drill for kids and demonstrations of frontier clothing. These special offerings are in addition to the fort’s usual program of hourly musket firings, artillery demonstrations and guided tours.

The program schedule for each day is:

  • 10:30 a.m.: casemate tour
  • 11 a.m.: musket firing
  • 11:30 a.m.: “fort and forest” (dress for success on a wilderness expedition)
  • noon: musket firing
  • 12:30 p.m.: casemate tour
  • 1 p.m.: musket firing
  • 1:30 p.m.: kids drill
  • 2 p.m.: musket firing
  • 2:30 p.m.: casemate tour
  • 3 p.m.: musket firing
  • 3:45 p.m.: artillery firing

Ongoing programs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. include:

√ “The Material Culture of Soldiers on the Frontier”

√  “French Military Chaplains” (11 a.m. until 2 p.m.)

√  “The Fur Trade”

√  “Washing Clothes in the 18th Century”

√ Blacksmithing

√ Silversmithing

√ Historic foodways

Old Fort Niagara, currently open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Youngstown, is a registered National Historic Landmark and New York State Historic Site operated by the Old Fort Niagara Association (a not-for-profit organization) in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

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