The French and Indian War gave many British aristocrats their first view into what their American colonists were like. They were not impressed! War thrust people of diverse backgrounds and views into close contact, the French and Indian War was no exception. Britons and Americans learned first-hand that many of the commonalities that they believed …
Category Archives: Brewing
On September 18, 1793, George Washington lays the cornerstone for the new US Capitol
The United States originally had no permanent capital city under the Articles of Confederation. Even when the US Constitution was ratified, it included no mention of a national capitol. Congress met in eight different cities including New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore before 1791. In 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, establishing the permanent seat of …
America’s First True Disaster Area — New Madrid, MO
In the early hours of December 16, 1811, the residents of New Madrid, a Mississippi River town once part of the Louisiana Territory, rushed from their homes as the ground rolled beneath their feet. Trees were uprooted and thrown to the ground. Huge chasms opened in the earth, and the Mississippi River ran backward! Somewhere …
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UPCOMING EVENT
Colonial Brewing during Fall FestColonial Pennsylvania Plantation3900 N. Sandy Flash Drive Ridley Creek State Park Newtown Square, PA 19073September 30, 202311:00am – 4:00pm Celebrate the fall season with Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation’s Fall Fest on Saturday, September 30! Enjoy colonial brewing by the Regimental Brewmeister demonstration, cider pressing, pottery making by Wallingford Potters Guild , music …
Be careful what you wish for: Toasting Superstitions
Okay, I get it. Making a toast is a challenge. You must stand in front of the crowd, think on your feet and come up with something witty. It is fun but scary. Then there is the fact that some people choose not to drink – do we leave them out: of course not! But …
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UPCOMING EVENT
Saturday, September 910am – 4pmHistoric Rittenhouse Town6034 Wissahickon AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19144 In order to finance some of his scientific projects, David Rittenhouse made topographic surveys for roads, rivers, and various properties as City Surveyor of Philadelphia in 1774. The most significant and widely known of his field work dealt with laying out boundaries and jurisdictional …
The Beginning of Submarine Warfare — September 7, 1776
During the Revolutionary War, the American submersible craft Turtle attempted to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare. The Continental Army out armed, outmanned, and outmatched by the British at almost every angle. This …
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How Did Americans Actually Transfer Money To France For The Louisiana Purchase?
Closing on a real estate deal is a lot of paperwork and promissory notes. Even if you pay “cash,” no one (except perhaps a mafia boss) will accept a suitcase filled with several hundred thousand dollars in cash. It’s just too easy to counterfeit. So, how did James Monroe and Robert Livingston, who concluded a …
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America’s First PLANNED City
Having witnessed plague in London in 1665 and the famously calamitous fire of 1666, Penn wanted his Philadelphia to be ‘a greene countrie towne, which will never be burnt, and allways be wholsome.’ The way he proposed to achieve this was by planning the city so that it was ordered and regulated. Orderly space, Penn …
“Uncle Sam” and “G.I.” were Appropriated Terms for Ordinary Things.
Samuel Wilson, a meat packer in Troy, New York, supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. To segregate barrels that were shipped to the Army from those he shipped to his other customers, he stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for United States. Soldiers receiving the shipments began referring …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 