2010 Programs at Woodville Plantation

Step back in time at Woodville Plantation, the home of John and Presley Neville, Western Pennsylvania’s link to the late 18th century. Explore the lives of Pittsburgh’s wealthiest citizens during the period of 1780 to 1820, the Era of the New Republic.

Woodville Plantation is open for guided tours every Sunday throughout the year, from 1 pm to 4 pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children age 6 through 12 and free for children under age 6. The grounds are open for free self-guided tours Wednesday through Saturday throughout the year, from 10 am to 6pm. Special tours can be arranged for groups of 20 or more by contacting the site. Please visit www.WoodvillePlantation.org or call (412) 221-0348 for additional information.

Throughout 2010, Woodville Plantation will present a series of hands-on educational programs called Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Guests will have a unique opportunity to join our interpreters in the original Woodville kitchen to learn preparation, cooking and food presentation methods of the late 18th century. Using Hannah Glasse’s 1796 cookbook and other period resources, students will participate with the site’s interpretive cooking staff to prepare tasty dishes such as pork pies, forced cabbages, lemon creams and carrot puffs. The cost for each class is $15. Interested participants are asked to pre-pay and register by mail. Registration fees are non-refundable. Please call (412) 221-0348 to pre-register or if you have any questions.

March 7 - A Day With the Nevilles
Visit the Neville family and their friends as they go about their daily business. Guests will experience everyday life, as it occurred at Woodville Plantation in 1794. Observe the “Neville Connection” as they enjoy games, sewing and dining at the period-correct hour of 2 pm. Special hours for this event are from 1 pm to 5pm.

March 21 - Legion Drill Day
Join the soldiers of Wayne’s Fourth Sub-Legion, the first army of the United States, as they practice the drills of Baron Von Steuben from 1794. Events of the day include tactical demonstrations, musket firing, marching and ceremonial drills. Weather permitting.

April 4 - Easter Sunday: Site is Closed

April 11 - Cookery Made Plain and Easy: Lemon Creams
Join the cooks at Woodville Plantation for a unique class. Participants will prepare an 18th century “receipt” in the original kitchen. This special opportunity will allow students to prepare dishes using historic preparation methods, period correct ingredients and reproduction cookware. Class will be held from 1 pm to 5 pm and is limited to 4 students. Cost for the class is $15. Pre-registration is required.

May 1 and 2 - Wayne’s Fourth Sub-Legion Encampment
Meet soldiers of the Fourth Sub-Legion of the United states, the men who defended Neville’s Bower Hill house during the Whiskey Rebellion. Soldiers will drill, fire muskets and discuss general camp life in Anthony Wayne’s army of 1794. Special hours for this event are Saturday, May 1, from 5pm to 8pm and Sunday, May 2, from noon to 5pm. Special admission price for the encampment and house tour is $3 per person.

May 23 - Laundry Demonstration
Join Woodville Plantation’s laundress as she presents the unique and interesting practices required for washing and ironing the clothing and linens at a late 18th century plantation, including some very unusual methods of removing stains.

June 6 - Cookery Made Plain and Easy: Forced Cabbage
Join cooks at Woodville Plantation for a unique class. Participants will prepare an 18th century “receipt” in the original kitchen. This special opportunity will allow students to prepare dishes using historic preparation methods, period correct ingredients and reproduction cookware. Class will be held from 1 pm to 5 pm and is limited to 4 students. Cost for the class is $15. Pre-registration is required.

June 13 - Spinning and Knitting Demonstration
Join the wool spinster to learn how wool was sheared, spun into thread and then knitted into the many items needed for warmth in the cold winter months.

Whiskey Rebellion Weekend
July 17 - Walking Lecture: The Events of July 1794
Woodville Plantation and the Scott Conservancy team up to present a unique walking lecture titled The Events of 1794. Join the soldiers of Wayne’s Fourth Sub-Legion as they return to Bower Hill to discuss and re-create the fateful events of the Whiskey Rebellion, as they occurred in July of 1794. This unique event will begin at 3 pm at the PA State Historical Marker on Bower Hill (near Kane Regional Center) and end at Whiskey Point (near Old St. Luke’s Church). The walk covers approximately 1-1/2 miles along the newly restored trails of the Bower Hill. Topics covered include the Battle of Bower Hill, the soldiers that participated in the battle and the Whiskey Rebellion. The walk is free to the public. Following the walk, visitors are invited to join the soldiers as they make camp at Woodville Plantation. The camp and Woodville Plantation will be open to the public on Saturday evening from 5 pm to 8 pm. Admission for this special opening is $3 per person.

July 18 - Whiskey Rebellion Day
Join the troops of the Fourth Sub-Legion of the United States as they make camp at Woodville Plantation. Experience camp life and participate with the soldiers as they march and drill. Visitors will learn about 18th century cooking techniques as the Woodville cooks prepare dinner for the encamped troops. Special hours for the event will be from noon to 5 pm, with a special admission price of $3 per person.

August 1 - Games of the New Republic: Stool Ball Competition
Visitors are invited to participate in a fun and interesting game of stool ball, the forerunner of modern baseball. Both the gentry and working classes enjoyed stool ball during the 18th century, including President Washington and his troops during the War for Independence.

August 29 - Harvest Day
Join the gardeners of Woodville Plantation as they harvest heirloom vegetables grown at the site throughout the summer. Meet the head gardener and learn about 18th century crops, growing techniques and tools.

September 12 - Legion Drill Day
Join the soldiers of Wayne’s Fourth Sub-Legion, the first army of the United States, as they practice the drills of Baron Von Steuben from 1794. Events of the day include tactical demonstrations, musket firing, marching and ceremonial drills. Weather permitting.

October 3 - Cookery Made Plain and Easy: Carrot Puffs
Join cooks at Woodville Plantation for a unique class. Participants will prepare an 18th century “receipt” in the original kitchen. This special opportunity will allow students to prepare dishes using historic preparation methods, period correct ingredients and reproduction cookware. Class will be held from 1 pm to 5 pm and is limited to 4 students. Cost for the class is $15. Pre-registration is required.

November 6 and 7 - Wayne’s Fourth Sub Legion Encampment
Meet soldiers of the Fourth Sub-Legion of the United States, the men who defended Neville’s Bower Hill house during the Whiskey Rebellion. Soldiers will drill, fire muskets and discuss general camp life in Anthony Wayne’s army of 1794. Special hours for this event are Saturday, November 6, from 5pm to 8pm and Sunday, November 7, from noon to 5 pm. Special admission price for the encampment and house tour is $3 per person.

November 21 - Holidays at the House
Come celebrate the holidays in a “different light” with candlelight tours of Woodville Plantation. Learn how 18th century holiday customs such as Twelfth Night, Boxing Day and the firing of Christmas guns differ from our modern-day celebrations. Included will be a magnificent display of the “full table” feast celebrated during Twelfth Night. Candlelight tours are conducted from noon to 8 pm.

December 5 - Cookery Made Plain and Easy: Cheshire Pork Pie
Join the cooks at Woodville Plantation for a unique class. Participants will prepare an 18th century “receipt” in the original kitchen. This special opportunity will allow students to prepare dishes using historic preparation methods, period correct ingredients and reproduction cookware. Class will be held from 1 pm to 5 pm and is limited to 4 students. Cost for the class is $15. Pre-registration is required.

Woodville Plantation will be closed from December 13, 2010,
through January 8, 2011.

Woodville will re-open for the 2011 season on Sunday, January 9, 2011.