Waterford Historical Society (CT)
A Second Saturday event: September 9, 2023
Recipes like brandied peaches, dried peas, apple rounds, and pumpkin leather bring to mind harvest times of old when autumn's bounty was preserved for the long winter months ahead.
On Saturday, September 9, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Waterford Historical Society opened its historic buildings on Jordan Green for tours, and a troupe of living historians presented “Harvest to Hearth: Autumn in 1850s Waterford.” The event was free, family-friendly and open to the public.
The historians presented activities and shared knowledge of harvesting and preserving:
- Unending Bounty: Preserving the Harvest
- Creature Comforts: Hearth Cooking
- Quilting Circle
- Pumpkin Sweet: The Heirloom Apples of our Past.
The antique cider press was put in action to demonstrate the process, and fresh cider from a local farm offered to visitors. Visitors strolled the grounds and entered our historic buildings to learn about what life in Waterford was like "way back then." The popular, bustling blacksmith shop was open for observation, and a visiting blacksmith showed his talents to the fascinated crowd of young and old.