There are opportunities to live history all around you.
I didn’t realize just how many until we began to homeschool – and now we find more of them than we can attend.
We couldn’t pass up the Hillsborough Living History Day, though, and we’re super glad we went.
We got there just as the event was beginning and found some soldiers building fires and talking with the visitors.
After checking them out, we headed into the visitors center, where a Native American was sharing about the tools he made in the traditional way with natural materials – and how well they worked.
Next we headed to a local school that had been run by a pastor’s wife before the Civil War. Now a venue for local events and museum-like exhibits, there were crafts for kids on the porch. My Big Helper learned how to make a knitting Nancy and practiced for the rest of the day. She loved it!
Inside, a traditional dancing group from Durham was doing demonstrations – and after they finished, they taught people who wanted to learn. My Big Helper jumped in and danced two different dances with them. It looked pretty difficult to me, but she said it’s easier than it looks.
Back outside, we found more crafts – and these were a bit more boy-friendly. My Little Man made a bull whistle and loved twirling it to make the sound.
Walking on stilts isn’t easy – even this kind. With games of the era spread out across the large lawn, the kids played graces and tried to master these stilts. Even though My Big Helper worked on these for quite some time, she was only able to take about five steps with any surety. She’s still trying to figure out how to convince her daddy to help her make a set for at home.
On our way back to the visitor’s center, we stumbled across an old cemetery and decided to explore it a bit. We discovered that William Hooper, one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from North Carolina, is buried here. We found a tour group inside the walls who was able to point us in the right direction. The kids were amazed at how weathered the stone was – and to be standing beside the grave of someone who had such an important role in the founding of our country. We’re hoping to go back for an official tour someday.
Even though we visit Hillsborough often, we had no idea there was so much Revolutionary War history in the area. We had a great time visiting the stations throughout town – and the dancers even clued us in to a much bigger re-enactment happening in Greensboro soon – and we can’t wait to go to that one, too.
You can learn so much by visiting living history events. I love that there are so many of them in our area. What sorts of history can you live near you?
For more information about getting your hands dirty in history, check out these Revolutionary resources:
What are your thoughts?