Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 11 & 12 — WINDSOR — The Old Constitution House, Birthplace of Vermont, hosts a weekend of period reenactments on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
This is the last of this season’s “History Happens at OCH” programs organized by 18th century reenactors Carl and Carolyn Malikowski. Residents of Windsor, this husband and wife team have demonstrated early woodworking, powder horn carving, and domestic activities. October’s event will feature Carolyn, who, weather permitting, will demonstrate outdoor cooking and discuss early harvesting and food preservation techniques.
The Old Constitution House was originally a tavern where Vermont’s constitution was adopted in 1777. It is now a museum with exhibits and guided tours that focus on the first constitution in America to prohibit slavery, and the first to establish universal manhood suffrage and a system of public schools. A permanent exhibition, “A Free and Independent State,” examines Vermont’s formative years, from the struggle for political independence to statehood in 1791.
This year’s temporary exhibit, “Bandboxes, Trunks, and Carpet Bags: Accoutrements of a Country Traveler,” displays some of the different types of luggage that early travelers used for carrying clothing and other possessions. From plain to fancy, such containers were seen coming and going from the Old Constitution House tavern.
The Old Constitution House State Historic Site is located at 16 North Main Street in Windsor. The site is open through Oct. 13, Saturday through Sunday and Monday holidays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
For more info, call 802-672-3773, or visit www.HistoricSites.Vermont.gov.
