On a typical day at George Washington’s Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm, visitors experiencing the house tour are ushered into the main hall upon which a dining table is set out before them with 18th-century reproductions of plates, glassware, wine bottles, and serving dishes. This setting creates an interactive experience for our visitors, transporting them … Continue reading Dig These Dishes! We Recreate an 18th Century Table Setting Using Only Artifacts.
18th century dining
Rooms at Rest
Visitors to Kenmore on the evening of April 13th will have the opportunity to see the Dining Room in a very different light, both literally and figuratively. In preparation for our evening program Letters from the Past, we will be putting the room “at rest,” an arrangement that would have been very familiar to the … Continue reading Rooms at Rest
At the Kids’ Table …with George Washington?
One of the first pieces of furniture that will arrive at the recreated Washington house at George Washington’s Ferry Farm will be the large, round dining table for the Hall. It’s being made at a shop in Pennsylvania and we hope to have it before the end of the year. With Thanksgiving just a week … Continue reading At the Kids’ Table …with George Washington?
Video: Picnicking with Washington
In this video, we talk about how people, including George Washington, picnicked in the 18th century and take a closer look at one particular piece of furniture used while on a picnic 200 years ago. You can read more about picnicking customs of the 1700s here.
Video: The Colonial Kitchen – Drinking Chocolate
In this video, we taste three different chocolate drinks from across the centuries and discover what ingredients went in them to make each taste so differently. Read about "Sweet-Toothed Colonials and Their Chocolate" here.
Video: Historic Kenmore’s Dining Room Table
Curator Meghan Budinger shows us some of the beautiful and fascinating historic tableware on display in Kenmore's dining room. Learn more about Kenmore's decorative arts on "The Rooms at Kenmore" blog at http://kenmore.org/wordpress/.
Thanksgiving in George Washington’s Virginia?
As thanksgiving approaches we turn our thoughts to tradition, family, and feast. Thanksgiving traditions call to mind family around a table full of food, a roast turkey with cranberry sauce, or maybe even a romanticized recreation of New England meal from the 17th century. But what is the history behind that tradition? What would people … Continue reading Thanksgiving in George Washington’s Virginia?
Video: The Colonial Kitchen – An Orange Fool
In this video, we make a rare colonial-era treat known as "An Orange Fool" recently featured in a written blog post about where colonial Americans got their fresh fruit from. You can find the blog post and the "Orange Fool" recipe here.
Where Did the Fruit Come From?
In our age of weekly farmers’ markets, drive-thru smoothie shops, and 24/7 grocery stores, it can be hard to truly understand the importance of fruit to the average colonial Virginian. They, however, would have been well aware of how rare it was and of what it meant to have it. Indeed, they were so aware … Continue reading Where Did the Fruit Come From?
Fine and Fashionable Fruit Dishes
Fruit! It’s good for you, delicious, and often beautiful - but have you ever thought of fruit as a status symbol? In today’s world of relatively quick, inexpensive long-distance transportation, we enjoy fresh fruit from all over the world year-round. We generally take this ability for granted. In the eighteenth century, however, if you or … Continue reading Fine and Fashionable Fruit Dishes
Lives & Legacies 