Ask someone to list traditional summertime activities, and they will probably mention picnics, family reunions, beach vacations, mountain getaways, and baseball games. Their list is likely to include going to the fair as well. The fair as a summer pastime is a long tradition and, like many American traditions, can be traced back to the … Continue reading Summertime Fun: Colonial June Fair
entertainments
Digging Up a Card Table
Tantalizing evidence of historic furniture use exists within the soils of George Washington’s Ferry Farm and that evidence gives us a more complete view of how the Washington family lived in the 1700s. The hundreds of items archaeologists and students have uncovered represent the remains of furniture broken or embellishments lost. The ruthless outdoor elements … Continue reading Digging Up a Card Table
Video: How to Play Whist
Colonial Americans often played cards for leisure and enjoyment and one of the most popular card games of the period was Whist. In this video we show you how to play this game. You can read a bit about the history of playing cards themselves here.
How Washington Relaxed: A Short History of Playing Cards
As modern people, we tend to assume the past is a foreign land where residents’ lives are alien to our own. Would the founding fathers balk at how we dither away our time? Or would they recognize that life without its moments of levity is foolish? Eighteenth century America was a time of growing leisure … Continue reading How Washington Relaxed: A Short History of Playing Cards
Lives & Legacies 