The 1780 log home of John Allen and Rachel Stout was moved to Alamance Battleground State Historic Site 50 years ago. The one room home with its high attic housed the couple and their 12 children as the family made its living at farming, carpentry and medicine. Come to Alamance Battleground from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 4, to celebrate this resourceful family and the lives they lived.
Visitors will be able to tour the house and view the period furniture, some pieces original to the family, and learn of the area's well-respected furniture making tradition. The house originally stood in nearby Snow Camp. Cabinetmaker Jerome Bias will give furniture and woodworking demonstrations throughout the day. Other practices for survival in the 1700s also will be examined.
Schedule of events:
- 9 a.m.: Facility opens
- 9:15 a.m.: "The Allen House and Its Residents." Priscilla Allen Smith, descendant of John Allen and Rachel Stout
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10 a.m.: "Herbs in Colonial America." Jane Pyayy, Pyatt's House of Herbs and More
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11 a.m.: "Open Hearth Cooking." Suzanne Simmons, Schiele Museum of Natural History
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2 p.m.: "Furniture in the Cane Creek Settlement." Juen Lucas, director of research, Museum of Early Decorative Arts
Alamance Battlefield interprets the May 16, 1771, Battle of Alamance when almost 2,000 backcountry farmers confronted the1,000-man royal militia of colonial Gov. William Tryon. Dishonest sheriffs, illegal fees and taxation had led the farmers to call for regulation of public officials. The Patriots loss the battle but the Regulator movement was born and many fought in the American Revolutionary War.The event is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. The Sylvan Ruritan Club will have food available for purchase.
Alamance Battleground is located 6 miles south of I-85/I-40, exit 143, on Highway 62 in Burlington, and is on Facebook and Instagram. It is within the Division of State Historic Sites of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.