Historical Tidbits — 1st Continental Congress

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 4, 1774           1st Continental Congress The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met at Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia in 1774 to devise an …

Historical Tidbits — Treaty of Versailles

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 3, 1783           Peace proclaimed – Treaty of Versailles Following the disastrous defeat at Yorktown and subsequent sequestering of British Forces in New York City, the British peace commissioner …

David Rittenhouse at Rittenhouse Square

Join us Sunday on the SquareSunday, September 28th11am-2pmRittenhouse Square  Join Historic RittenhouseTown, The Friends of Rittenhouse Square and the Common Press as we kick-off the 250th celebration early! Step into history on the last Sunday in September with Sunday Open Streets at Rittenhouse Square for hands on traditional paper-making, and an opportunity to meet and …

Historical Tidbits — Switching to the Gregorian Calendar

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 2, 1752 (sort of) – The British Empire ended their use of the Julian Calendar, switching to the Gregorian resulting in a 12-day shift.  The next day on …

US Treasury Department Founded: September 2, 1789

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress had no power to levy and collect taxes, nor was there a tangible basis for securing funds from foreign investors or governments. Left with no real money, the delegates resolved to issue paper money in the form of bills of credit, promising redemption once the war was won. …

Rafatia d’ Chocolat

In New England prior to the 18th century American Revolution, a “chocolate wine” was popular. Its ingredients included sherry, port, chocolate, and sugar.  A French distillers manual published in 1780 (Descriptions des arts et métiers[i].) also describes chocolate liqueur.  This chocolate liqueur was often consumed straight, as an after-dinner drink, used in mixed drinks, and …

John Chapman Worked to Make the World a Little Better

John Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774 and was a student of Emanuel Swedenborg, who espoused a secular humanist creed. This is similar to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם). Secular humanism teaches that the world is innately good but that there is always room for us to improve it.  Ethics are, …