Explore Abingdon's 20-block downtown Historic district on guided walking tours or ghost tours. Storll the shaded, brick sidewalks and savor the ambiance of the oldest town west of the Blue Ridge.
The Festival offers an array of history lectures and Civil War re-renactments such as the Overmountain Men. Did you know that nearly half the men who fought at the Battle of King's Mountain were from our region? That the Battle of King's Mountain is credited with having turned the tide of the American Revolution? That without King's Mountain, America might have had only 10 colonies? That the battle was not Americans against the British, but Americans against Americans? That the American Whigs bested the American Tories in only one hour, took over 800 prisoners and then proceeded to "lose" them? Or that hundreds of Whigs "deserted" right along with the hundreds of Tories they "lost?" Talk about these and other details at the Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum where members of the Black's Fort Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Gen. William Campbell Chapter of Sons of American Revolution will be in costume.
During the 1860s, the big news in Abingdon was the invasion of the southern states by the Federalists. The Washington Rifles (First Virginia Cavalry, Company D), a local re-enacting unit, will recreate a military encampment with ongoing demonstrations featuring Colonel "Bulldog" Eller and Major Jim Eller with their Civil War medical hospital and equipment display and more.
The Blue & Gray Society are U.S. Civil War Living Historians from Smyth and Washington Counties. They will present both Union and Confederate Civil War camps which will be manned by the 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry (US) and the 22nd Virginia Cavalry (CS). Period craftspeople will demonstrate the arts of blacksmithing, salt making, flax and wool weaving, soap making, basket weaving, and more.
You will also meet First Virginia Cavalry & Gen. Robert E. Lee in a question and answer session with an assembly of men serving the Confederacy during one of the most tumultuous times in our history. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the famous Confederate Commander-in-Chief, Al Stone of Hinton, West Virginia, becomes General Lee during this presentation. Stone states that it is an honor and a privilege to portray a man still respected for his integrity and honor as a military figure in American history. Stone has portrayed the beloved general in the History Channel documentary April 1865, the film The Trial of Robert E. Lee, and the West Virginia Humanities Council program, "History Alive."
A wide range of exhibits and lectures will be offered such as:
History comes to life through guided tours that interpret the lifestyles of the home's original owners, James and Susan Fields, and later, George and Estelle Penn. Built in 1860 by James Fields, a brick mason, the home features Georgian, Italianate, and Greek Revival architectural details. The Parlor, Dining Room, and Bedchambers represent 19th-century family life in Southwest Virginia. Other highlights include an herb and kitchen garden, a fully-restored kitchen, and a loom room featuring home textile production. The Museum also displays the William King Regional Arts Center's collection of regional decorative arts, as well as objects original to the home.
Tours and Field Trips include:
Skipping Through History with Capt. Joseph Black & Friends. Join costumed interpreters at the Youth Tent 10-15 minutes before the start of this living history tour. Joseph Black, a founder of Abingdon (formerly Black's Fort), will lead an easy, interpreted stroll through the more "kid friendly" aspects of the Colonial and Civil War periods of the town's history. Included will be stops at The Tavern, the Martha Washington Inn, Barter Theatre, the site of (Joseph) Black's Fort, and many other points of interest. Designed to surprise and delight as well as inform, narration is geared to elementary and middle school students as interpreters help children relate more vividly to the remarkable history of the oldest town west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Designed to surprise and delight as well as inform, our The tour will conclude in the yard of the Fields-Penn House where participants will be invited to enjoy games from earlier times at the "Playground of the Past." Note: Children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Playground of the Past - Children of all ages are invited to enjoy games from the past on the lawn of the Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum. Featured activities will include skittles (the forerunner of bowling), lawn bowling, hoops, ring toss, puzzles, colonial bubble blowing, hand held toys, and more.
2008 EVENT INFORMATION COMING SOON
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