Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24 – Mercer County
Trenton, NJ— On Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24, from 10 am – 5 pm, the Old Barracks Museum will break your winter cabin fever by reliving the winter of 1777-1778 when Washington’s troops were experiencing the harsh Winter at Valley Forge. The Old Barracks will host 18th-century carpenters, tailors, cordwainers and shoemakers, hatters, gunsmiths, laundresses, clerks, and members of the local militia. Come see the scale at which production was happening in Trenton in 1778 in order to sustain the needs of the Continental Army. Artisans and tradesmen will be demonstrating all day, both days.
Musket demonstrations will take place on both Saturday and Sunday at 12 PM and 3 PM. On Saturday at 11 AM, Shaun A. Pekar will discuss shoe manufacturing during the American Revolution and learn why the fledgling American Army faced constant footwear shortages and how they dealt with them. At 1 PM, Jim Casco will present “Gunsmithing: Then and Now” and detail how the craft of gunsmithing changed over time. On Sunday at 1 PM, Robert Smith will present a lecture on his book Manufacturing Independence: Industrial Innovation in the American Revolution. All presentations are included in the regular cost of admission: $10-Adult, $8-Student/Senior, Free-Children under 6, Active U.S. Military, Members. The Old Barracks Museum is located at 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ. Free parking is available in the Capitol Complex Parking Garage. Metered parking is also available near the museum.
