IRON WORK FARM in ACTON, Inc.
P.0. Box 1111, Acton, MA 01720
Summer Newsletter
2008
Volume IX, Number 1
BREAKING NEWS !!!
The Iron Work Farm has just been notified that we have been awarded a $22,000 matching grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund! The award will go toward the development of a long-term plan for the preservation and interpretation of the Faulkner Homestead, a feasibility study to address problems of access and circulation on the property, and an archaeological study. Stay tuned for more information to come later in the summer.
2008 UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
South Acton Paint-Out and Sale
For the second year in a row, the Iron Work Farm will host an artists’ Paint-Out and sale. Through September 30, neighbors of the Faulkner House and Jones Tavern will notice artists with easels and palettes capturing the landscapes of South Acton Village. Last year, many painters from the Acton area took part, but artists came from as far away as New Hampshire to paint our two historic buildings and other nearby scenes, and we expect the same again in 2008. Please watch for them, and welcome them as they work.
Drawings and paintings created during the Paint-Out will be exhibited and offered for sale at Jones Tavern in the fall, including at the Annual Meeting on October 4 and the open house on October 26. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Iron Work Farm. If you are an artist, or know one who would enjoy this chance to paint in the open air, please pass the word. More details, including information on how to register as a Paint-Out participant, are available on our website at www.IronWorkFarm.org, by email at IWFcontact@Ironworkfarm.org, or by calling President Nancy Evans at 978-621-5050.
Open houses at Jones Tavern and the Faulkner Homestead
We are well into our open-house season, which lasts from April through October. Both the Tavern and the Faulkner House are open to the public on the last Sunday of the month from 3 to 5 p.m. As always, we welcome volunteers to help host at the open houses. If you are interested in hosting and in getting to know the two buildings and their stories a little better, please contact Nancy Evans at 978-621-5050, or email us at IWFcontact@ironworkfarm.org Any new volunteers will be paired with an experienced host for the afternoon, and we will send you information ahead of time about the building and its history.
Volunteer opportunities
In addition to hosting, volunteers are also needed for a variety of tasks such as gardening, cataloguing collections, event planning, and carpentry. If you are interested, let us know by email or by phone at the number above.
SAVE THE DATE: Another combined Annual Meeting and beer tasting for IWF members and friends is planned at the Tavern on Saturday, October 4. While we again expect everyone to have a great time, in the light of the need to raise funds to match the Preservation Projects Fund grant, this third year of that enjoyable fund-raising event will take on a whole new meaning.
SPRING 2008 REPORT:
2008 at the Faulkner Homestead and Jones Tavern: 1861 Revisited
Both Iron Work Farm house museums are known for their connection with the dawn of the American Revolution in 1775. It is believed that Jones Tavern was a venue for the political discussions that led up to Acton’s resistance to the Crown, and both Capt. Aaron Jones and Col. Francis Faulkner played important roles in the “Concord Fight” at the North Bridge on April 19th. After the departure of the West Militia from the Faulkner House lawn that morning, the local women set cooking fires there to prepare dinner for the men. Young Francis Faulkner, Jr. was one of the local boys who carried the food on horseback to the weary soldiers after the battle.
But as the important new exhibit at the Acton Memorial Library, “Not afraid to go . . . . “ reminds us, three generations later Acton residents, including members of the Jones and Faulkner families, fought in the Civil War, when again the first blood was shed on April 19th . Patriots’ Day was established in 1894 as a state holiday commemorating both events, and this year the Iron Work Farm has shifted focus to the second, the start of the Civil War in 1861. While we kicked off the season in tandem with the Acton Historical Society with trolley rides and activities at the Tavern, Faulkner House and the society’s Hosmer House, this year the Patriots’ Day event was entitled “Spirit of Acton – 1775 and 1861.” The Historical Society emphasized life in April 1775, while at the Faulkner House and Jones Tavern, the Iron Work Farm moved to April 1861.
We plan to continue our focus on South Acton in the Civil War for the rest of the year at our monthly open-houses, utilizing items and information from the Iron Work Farm collection. In the story below, President Nancy Evans reviews the events of a very exciting, and very different, Patriots’ Day in South Acton.
Patriots Day 2008: Iron Work Farm Gets “Civil”
By Nancy Claire Evans
Rare is the occasion to journey into another century, as was the result of the 4th Annual Patriots Day Trolley event on April 21. Visitors to the Jones Tavern and Faulkner House walked into 1861 and the life of small-town Massachusetts entering the Civil War era, where the Iron Work Farm introduced them to Acton’s Civil War roots.
Trolley riders disembarked at Jones Tavern directly into the encampment of Union troops. Re-enactors from the 4th Regiment of Meagher’s Irish Brigade, part of the 28th Massachusetts Infantry, Army of the Potomac, formed up for review under our own Union infantry Colonel (aka Robert Trombly) as they displayed their military skills, swords, guns and camp kits to the many adults and children. The soldiers ostensibly were awaiting their troop train to take them to the shattered nation’s capital, Washington, DC.
The reason for having Civil War troops stationed on Acton’s historic grounds escaped some of the 700+ visitors that afternoon. “What are Union Soldiers doing here?” was a question asked of hostess Michaela Moran over cider in the Jones Tavern tap room. In the 1818 parlor, fiddler Mary Donovan played 19th-century music throughout the afternoon. Anne Forbes and Betsy Eldridge greeted visitors in the original Tavern parlor, answering questions about the Jones family, the building’s history, and South Acton in the Civil War era. Kimberley Connors-Hughes explained the many-hooped skirts and other clothing of the time. Francesca Arsenault gave ready information to the many questions asked by inquisitive guests.
At the Faulkner House, Lt. Paul Brundidge of Company A, 35th Virginia Battalion Confederate Cavalry, temporarily claimed the land for the rebel soldiers. “We have the high ground!” he exclaimed, as he surveyed the grounds from his tent encampment in the woods. He and several more cavalrymen (and women) and horses from the Army of Virginia interacted with the Patriots’ Day visitors, displaying saddles, tack, swords, bayonets and rifles, as well as their shooting skills. Trooper Henry and Lt. Paul patiently explained how a Southern troop could come to such an encampment so far north. As re-enactors, these people carefully represent our nation’s history to many audiences, Acton being infrequently visited by Civil War events.
Evoking the atmosphere of the 19th century Faulkner Farm which stretched for sixty acres over the top of Faulkner Hill, the Middlesex 4-H collection of lambs and chickens gathered children and soldiers alike – the children playing with the animals, the troops considering the possibility of easy forage. 4-H’ers Brittany and Tahna Hallet, Isabelle Tower and Kim Bingham guarded the farm animals from potential poaching. The cavalry horses grazed quietly in the woods while being petted, cosseted and admired by the children and their parents.
Indoors in the Great Hall, Dennis Ahern of the Acton Memorial Library Board of Trustees explained the irony that three Massachusetts soldiers were among the 30 killed when angry Marylanders attacked the troops transferring trains in Baltimore on their way to Washington DC on April 19, 1861. Nancy Evans, Jade Moran, Frank Braman and Reggie Jugovich posed as Faulkner House residents and greeted visitors.
South Acton neighbors also contributed to everyone’s enjoyment of the day by lending the use of their facilities, providing parking for volunteers and re-enactors, and helping get the grounds ready for the 700+ visitors. We thank Frank Chen of Acton Coffee & Ice Cream, Erikson Grain Mill, Jim Fenton of Faulkner Mill LLC, and Tom and Luke Sikina.
Spring Egg Hunt at the Faulkner House
Our first event of the spring actually took place on March 22, when we hosted South Acton children at a traditional egg hunt at the Faulkner House. Sunny, though nippy, weather made a perfect backdrop for both hiding and hunting for eggs at this traditional harbinger of spring.
“I just wanted to let you know that the Egg Hunt on Saturday was the most enjoyable one I've ever been to.”, wrote one neighborhood mom. “What fun to poke through leaves, around trees, and in the crevices of a rock wall to find the treats this year! The small number of kids, the separate areas for the different age groups, the friendly and helpful volunteers, the enormous number of treats - it was like an ultra-coordinated corporate event! I don't know if this has been an annual event or will become one, but I hope we get an invitation every year! “
Many thanks to the enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers -- Ellie, Grace and Christian Halsey, Charlotte and Collin Bendig, Olivia Arsenault, and Glennon and Caitlin Beresin – who made the egg hunt a success and a pleasure for all involved. Next year we hope to repeat the fun.