For Immediate Release:
Jan. 12, 2022

 

Contact:
Marie Cheek
Community Relations Coordinator
Culture & Heritage Museums
www.chmuseums.org
803.909.7312    mcheek@chmuseums.org
 

Look to the past for a better perspective of the New Year with insightful programs at Historic Brattonsville

Living History Saturdays, Time Travel Tuesdays, new exhibits, special events and everyday programs widen the lens of cultural understanding and engage learners of all ages

McCONNELLS, S.C. – Historic Brattonsville puts 2022 in perspective with illuminating portrayals of life in the Carolina Piedmont as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries. The site’s living history programs highlight seasonal activities, historical events and untold stories that have shaped the American experience. Historically dressed interpreters keep the 800 acre farm running with everyday chores that reflect forgotten skills and enduring resilience.

Living History Saturdays:

Everything but the Oink – every Saturday in January from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sharpen the knives and season the cast iron skillet, demonstrations in processing and preserving a pig are underway. Historically dressed interpreters focus on the importance of the pig to the people of the Carolina Piedmont. Gather ‘round the open hearth and learn how to render lard, make sausage, and prepare culinary delights such as pickled pigs’ feet, headcheese, and offal. An array of historical methods utilizing by-products, including soap making, are on Historic Brattonsville’s itinerary for “Everything but the Oink.”
Jan. 15 — Meat Processing and Preservation
Jan. 22 — Headcheese, Offal, and Soap
Jan. 29 — Cooking a Southern Staple

By Way of the Back Door – every Saturday in February from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with special themed tours about Brattonsville’s African American history at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Put the challenges of today in perspective by reflecting on the way of life for the enslaved people who toiled on the plantation. By Way of the Back Door is a living history program that focuses more deeply on the African Americans living at Brattonsville in the 18th and 19th centuries. From the fields to the kitchen, foods and agricultural practices that originated in Africa are featured. Singing, storytelling and playing games offer insight on how African American culture persevered.
Feb. 5 — African American Foodways

Feb. 12 –Trades and the Skilled Enslaved People
Feb. 19 — Daily Life of Enslaved People
Feb. 26 — Arts and Cultural Contributions

Save the Date:
The Reconstruction Era in York County — March 5
Children’s Day on the Farm — March 26

The Brick House Exhibits:

The Brick House opens its front rooms as a museum space for telling the important, but difficult stories of the regional community during the Reconstruction Era. The new exhibition represents a chapter of Brattonsville’s history that has not been a major part of the site’s interpretation until now. In the front parlor, “Liberty & Resistance: Reconstruction and the African American Community at Brattonsville 1865-1877” details the tumultuous times in York County following the Civil War. The Brattonsville Store is recreated in the Brick House’s front room adjacent to the parlor and is outfitted with interior finishes, counters, and shelves stocked with inventory to portray how the general store looked in 1871. 

Time Travel Tuesdays:

New living history programs premiere every Tuesday at 10 a.m. on Historic Brattonsville’s Facebook page. Topics such as spinning and dyeing wool, preparation of historical culinary dishes, and other traditional arts and crafts are presented as how it was done in the 18th and 19th centuries. A hybrid program, Time Travel Tuesdays are prerecorded on site and presented as remote learning opportunities that can be viewed anytime on Culture & Heritage Museums’ YouTube channel.

Fast Facts:

Historic Brattonsville is located at 1444 Brattonsville Rd., McConnells, S.C. 29726
General Hours of Operation: Tues. – Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sun. 1 – 5 p.m. Closed on
Mondays & Holidays. It is recommended that visitors check for special hours, up to
date information other potential changes at 
chmuseums.org
Admission: Purchase tickets online at chmuseums.org. Adults $8; Seniors $7; Youth $5;
Free for CHM Members & under the age of three.

Media contacts, please call or email Marie Cheek to coordinate site visits and special interviews.

IMAGES: 

  1. African American foodways shaped the culinary heritage of the South. Oriana Moore, historical interpreter at Brattonsville, prepares garden greens for an open hearth cooking demonstration. Credit: CHM staff.
  2. The new Brattonsville Store exhibit in the Brick House presents the general store as it would have looked in 1871, stocked with replicated goods based on archived receipts and records. Credit: CHM staff.
  3. From tending to the heritage breed animals, to spinning sheep’s wool and knitting a frock, living history features everyday chores on the farm. Marissa Gordon, historical interpreter at Brattonsville, gets the spinning wheel ready for processing wool. Credit: CHM staff.

Contact Marie Cheek for high resolution images.

About Historic Brattonsville:

Historic Brattonsville features historic houses and structures built over the course of three generations of the Bratton family and the enslaved community. The plantation spreads over 800 acres and includes farmed land with heritage breed animals, a Revolutionary War battlefield with interpretive trail, and a nature preserve with miles of walking trails. Seasonal events, reenactments, and living history programs interpret what life was like in the Carolina Piedmont during the 18th and 19th century.
Historic Brattonsville is included in “The Green Book of South Carolina” – a travel guide to significant African American heritage and cultural destinations across the state. Learn more: https://greenbookofsc.com/locations/historic-brattonsville/

About Culture & Heritage Museums:

Culture & Heritage Museums is a family of museums in York County: Historic Brattonsville in McConnells, the McCelvey Center, which includes the Historical Center, in York, and the Museum of York County and Main Street Children’s Museum in Rock Hill. CHM is a Smithsonian Affiliate and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. According to AAM, accreditation is “the ultimate mark of distinction in the museum field” and “signifies excellence and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public.”  In South Carolina, there are only twelve museums or museum systems that have achieved this distinction.

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