Every Day Life at Potsgrove Manor

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Pottsgrove Manor.

Historic Pottsgrove Manor will host a day of interactive history with “The Plantation Whereon I Live: A Hands-On Experience of Everyday Life at Pottsgrove Manor” on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,

Learn what day-to-day life was like for the inhabitants of the iron plantation and colonial town of John Potts.

Participants in this program will experience chores, trades, and pastimes of the 18th-century with a number of hands-on activities, living history demonstrations, and take-home crafts:

• Dip a candle to take home (sessions at 12 p.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.)

• Try out an 18th-century style printing press

• Watch a blacksmith at work

• Meet sheep, goats, and chickens, and learn about their roles on a colonial farm

• See open-hearth cooking demonstrations, and help the cook as she grinds spices and rolls out dough

• Lend a hand with churning butter, and learn how cheese was made

• Help stir the pot to make apple butter over an open fire

• Grind and press apples for cider

• Learn how to write with a quill pen, and take home a sample of personal penmanship

• See how clothes were made, and learn some basic sewing stitches

• Watch wool being turned into yarn on a spinning wheel

• Try weaving linen tape, and take a piece of hand-woven tape home

• Become a proper lady or gentleman with dancing and etiquette lessons (sessions at 12, 1 and 2 p.m.

• Try out the toys and games colonial children would have played. 

In addition to the scheduled activities, the first-floor of John Potts’s 1752 manor house will be open for self-guided tours. 

Guides will be stationed in each room to talk about the Potts family and how they, their servants, and their slaves lived in the house in the 1750s and 1760s. 

The Pottsgrove Manor museum shop will also be open for business throughout the day, selling historically-themed books, toys, and more.

This fun and educational program is great for everyone from individual families to scout and youth groups. 

While it is an all-ages event, the scheduled activities are best suited for elementary-aged children. 

There is a $5 materials fee per participating child; adults and non-participating children are free. 

Pre-registration is required for groups of ten or more. This event will be held weather permitting, and visitors should dress for the weather, as most activities will be outdoors.

While only the first floor will be open for tours during this program, the entire mansion and the current exhibit, “To the Manor Worn: Clothing the 18th-Century Household,” can be toured during regular museum hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to
4 p.m. 

Tours are given on the hour. The last tour of the day begins at 3 p.m.. The site is closed Mondays and major holidays. 

Groups of ten or more should pre-register by calling 610-326-4014. 

The “To the Manor Worn” exhibit closes Nov. 2.

Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route
100, just off Route 422, in Pottstown.

Pottsgrove Manor is operated by Montgomery County under the direction of the Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites Division of the Assets and Infrastructure Department. For more information, call 610-326-4014, or visit the website at http://www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor