The grounds of Mulford Farm on James Lane will be host to Revolutionary War re-enactors, costumed interpreters, games, music, historical craft demonstrations, and more on Sunday when the East Hampton Historical Society has a free family history festival celebrating the town’s 375th anniversary.
This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the historical society’s ownership of Mulford Farm, its executive director, Steve Long, noted in a press release. “I’m thrilled we can use this historic property to celebrate the vast scope of East Hampton history, which dates back even beyond 1648.”
The fun will happen from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with help from over a dozen organizations from across town, all of whom do their part to preserve and celebrate the town’s history. These will include the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station, the East End Classic Boat Society, the East Hampton Garden Club, the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, and the East Hampton Historical Farm Museum, as well as East Hampton Village’s Historic Services Department, the Eastville Community Historical Society in Sag Harbor, the Ladies Village Improvement Society, the Shinnecock and Montaukett Nations, the Springs Historical Society, the Wainscott Heritage Project, the Montauk Historical Society and Montauk Library, the Amagansett Library, and the League of Women Voters.
Members of the East Hampton Lions Club will be grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers to raise money for the club’s good works. There will also be cider, apples, and doughnuts from the Milk Pail in Water Mill, and perhaps a taste of honey, as Deb Klughers of Bonac Bees displays a hive and answers questions about bees.
To transport festival-goers back in time, the 3rd New York Regiment will set up a Revolutionary War-era encampment on the farm grounds and will enliven things with shots from a cannon and 21-gun salutes throughout the day. Also planned are blacksmithing and rughooking demonstrations. Josephine Smith and Ashna Snowden of the Shinnecock Nation will share traditional dances and exhibit handicrafts, and Joy Bennett and Chris Koldewey will entertain visitors with sea chanteys.
Peter Zegler and Bob Beck, two metal detectorists, will show off artifacts from the 17th through 19th centuries that they’ve found on the grounds of farms, churches, private residences, and public parks around the town, and Long Island Antique Power Association members will rev up their antique tractors.
Also this week, the historical society is offering tours of the new Dominy Shops Museum on North Main Street tomorrow at 11 a.m. and, Saturday at noon, of the Thomas Moran and Mary Nimmo Moran House and Studio on Main Street on Sunday at 10 a.m., and of Mulford Farm on Friday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. That evening, at 5:30, the society will lead a tour of village cemeteries beginning at the Home, Sweet Home Museum on James Lane. Tours cost $12; space can be reserved by calling the society or online at bit.ly/3CNBJpA.
