of Washington, PA
Our Schedule of Special Events and Activities
(All events are run by our Museum Director, Clay Kilgore,
and a dedicated group of volunteers.
Please consider becoming a member.)
Upcoming Events
Whiskey
Rebellion Dinner
Friday, July 30, 2010
6pm
Join us and Frederick Booker Noe III, ambassador for Jim Beam Brands and direct descendent of Jacob Beam, for a evening of whiskey-tasting coupled with 18th Century-inspired cuisine. It will be held in the Lobby and Grand Ball Room of the George Washington Hotel.
Hear Mr. Noe, a seventh-generation distiller, share the fascinating history of his family’s business and their long legacy as Whiskey distillers. Taste a range of whiskeys and gain a better appreciation and understanding of whiskey with Mr. Noe as your guide. All proceeds support the Bradford House Historical Association and the Washington Bicentennial Celebration.
Click Here for More information
Click Here for Registration Form
The Whiskey Rebellion Festival
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Noon to 5pm
This exciting event will take place during the Bicentennial Celebration for the City of Washington. Included in the days activities will be historical reenactments, period craftsmen, demonstrations, tours of the Bradford House, historic music and period foodstuffs. Also while you are there visit the beautiful Bradford House Gardens to see progress on the reconstructed Bradford Kitchen and see the archaeological dig of the original kitchen location.
For more information call 724-222-3604 or email bradfordhouse@verizon.net
www.cityofwashington200.com www.visitwashingtoncountypa.com
The annual Christmas Candlelight Tours
December 3, 4 & 5, 2010
Tour the Bradford House beautifully dressed for the holiday season by candlelight and enjoy our special holiday exhibit as well. Tours will be conducted on Friday and Saturday from 5:00 to 9:00 PM and on Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00 PM.
Outdoor kitchen construction & Archaeological Dig
Summer 2010
The Bradford House was originally built without an indoor kitchen, probably to avoid the dangers of fire. All cooking was done in a small log cabin located in the back garden. This precaution now seems wise, because the outdoor kitchen burned down in the late 1790's. This project will not only duplicate the original facilities at the House, but will illustrate the vast difference in living standards between ordinary working-class residents in the area and the Bradfords.
Construction has begun and will continue to progress throughout the spring and summer. Stop by the Bradford House Gardens anytime to see what work has been done. Also while you are at the Bradford House visit the site of the original Bradford House Kitchen. You might just see the an archaeological dig taking place. .
Coming in 2011
The David Bradford House Symposium
March 2011
Howard J. Burnett Center,
Washington & Jefferson College
Continue to check the website for updated information on the date and time, speaker list and signup information. In 2009 we held our Third Symposium on 18th Century Life and Culture. It was a great success on which we hope to build for next year. Information on the 2009 Symposium in below.
The Third Symposium on 18th Century Life and Culture
The Bradford House and Washington & Jefferson College had a very successful day-long symposium on Saturday, March 21, 2009. We had experienced speakers, a lively crowd, and great papers (which are listed below).
American Manners in the Age of Jackson - Tom Mainwaring, Ph.D. Dr. Mainwaring related the rather acid opinions of American manners reported by a visiting English woman: Francis Trollope, the mother of Anthony Trollope, the famous author. Her comments on American manners were very entertaining, if arguably extreme.
Reflections From a Grass Widow - Violet M. Covert. This speaker described some of the hardships of journeying over the Allegheny Mountains and of living on the Pennsylvania Frontier as found in the journal of Sally Hastings, a young wife, abandoned by her husband, who elected to leave her children behind and go west rather than stay in a community in which she was unwelcome. The speaker also discussed her novelization of this journal.
The Shot Not Heard Around the World: Trent's Fort and the Opening of the War for Empire by Doug MacGregor, Educator at the Fort Pitt Museum, the winner of our juried competition for papers. You can see his winning paper here. He discussed how the confrontations between the English and French/Indians at Trents's Fort could be seen as the start of the hostilities that led to a major European war (the spill-over into America being known as the French and Indian War).
The Rhetoric of Rhetoric: Small Pox Blankets and Popular Culture - a post-9/11 review - Jessica Cox (our 2nd place winner in the juried paper competition). This paper was a both a careful assessment of the actual effectiveness of attempts at Fort Pitt to introduce small pox into the Indian population with infected blankets (doubtful) and and a discussion of the role that such stories play in times of public fear.
The Battle of Bushy Run - David Miller -
Museum Educator, Bushy Run Battlefield. This paper discussed the causes and course of this particular battle and addressed some of the unresolved issues, such as where the bodies are buried.
"The best feather in our cap's" to "A very great plague" : Cherokee Presence in Pennsylvania During the Seven Years' War - Ben Scharff, Doctorial Candidate, West Virginia University. This paper offered an explanation of how and why the Colonial and British attitudes towards the Cherokee changed in a year from high esteem (founded on an unreasonable assumption that the Cherokee could be easily controlled) to hatred (as Cherokee grew uncooperative due to non-payment of promised wages and abuse by Virginians along their route of travel to Pennsylvania).
The Bradford House is presently owned by
the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
and is managed by the Bradford House Historical Association, Inc.,
a 501(c)3 charitable non-profit corporation.
This site is maintained by the Association. This page was revised on
February 2010