Registration to the the 48th Annual Historic American Trades and Crafts Workshops at Historic Eastfield Village is open!
In this two day class students will learn some of the history of early American upholstery as it came to us from France by way of England and was adapted by colonial craftsmen with the materials that they could obtain both locally and from imported sources.
We will discuss the simple tools and materials needed for both simple and complex work, including linen webbing, hessian (burlap) coir fiber, curled horsehair, cotton wadding, and calico (muslin). Students will complete a simple footstool using hand tacking and hand-sewing techniques in the English style as described by David James in his book “Upholstery, A Complete Course”.
All tools and materials including frames will be provided as well as a selection of generic show covers, and students are also free to bring ¾ to 1 yard of their own fabric if they wish.
No prior experience in upholstery is necessary, however a willingness to work with heavy threads and large needles is a great starting point.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: June 7th - 8th 2025
Includes:
$90 in Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
This workshop is geared to folks who are already familiar with spinning but want to improve their knowledge of traditional spinning techniques and care of traditional wheels. It is also open to folks who are interested in flax fiber preparation. We will be dressing flax fiber for spinning with traditional distaffs. This workshop is an opportunity to get your traditional wheel working.
Bring your wheel and we will go over maintenance, care, and repair of traditional low and great wheels. The goal of the workshop will be to get many traditional wheels in working condition as we can.
Saturday: Low wheels: care and repair of low wheels and spinning flax –We will have a few low wheels available for folks that do not have wheels of their own. We will hatchel flax and dress distaffs. If you have a distaff, bring it, if not we will make distaffs from ash saplings.
Sunday: Walking or Great Wheels: care and repair of walking wheels and multiplying heads of all sorts. We will also have a few walking wheels with heads for you to try. We will be spinning both wool and cotton. Bring your wheel and fiber if you have some.
Workshop requirements: Previous spinning knowledge is preferred as we will not have enough time to be able to teach beginning spinning. But folks are welcome to join as observers if you have a wheel but don’t know how it works and want to get your wheel in good condition.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: June 14th - 15th 2025
Includes:
Materials
Limited to: 30 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Make A Tuneful Noise! Please join us for a weekend of harmony, singing and history. A workshop for absolute beginners and experienced singers alike. Tim Eriksen and Allison Steel will share their contagious love of singing with students as they delve into the Shape-Note style of singing used in The Sacred Harp, a song book first printed in 1844 and still actively in use today.
Participants will learn the basic rudiments and explore the cultural and stylistic traditions of Sacred Harp-style singing, uplifted by a community of singers. Specific workshops will explore local 19th-century tune book “The Easy Instructor,” work of local composers, Abolitionist hymns, contemporary composition (write your own tunes), and more!
18thCentury Hearth Cooking Instructor Becky Hendricks will have Briggs Tavern humming all weekend with a welcome dinner on Friday night, a traditional feast on Saturday night, and lunch spreads throughout the workshop. We will each have an opportunity to lend a hand in the kitchen for this distinctive experience. Immerse yourself in 18th century song, accommodations, and food in a way you can only enjoy at Historic Eastfield Village.
Duration: 2.5 Days
Dates: June 27th - 29th 2025
Includes:
Friday Night Welcome Dinner
Saturday Night 18th C Traditional Feast
Lunches throughout the weekend
Limited to: 30 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
This basket is a variation on an Adirondack Pack Basket (sized 10”-12”) and finished with a cross-body strap. Students will learn a Shaker technique for continuous weaving to create a solid base, and then weave and shape the body of the basket.
Bridle Leather will be used to create the crossbody strapping for this basket. Basic leather hole punching will be used/taught to create holes for stitching the strap and buckles together.
This is a challenging class with lots of shaping so weaving experience can be helpful but this 2-day class will give students of all ability levels time to enjoy a stress free experience.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: July 12th - 13th 2025
Includes:
$ 75 in Materials
Limited to: 6 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Participants will learn the “arts and mysteries” of making straight-sided round wooden containers by making a pine water pail, using a shaving horse, drawknives, saws, planes and other tools of the trade. The properties of wood, tool safety and sharpening, and a brief history of the cooper’s trade will be reviewed.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: July 19th - 20th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
$20 in Materials
Limited to: 6 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Historic wood windows are one of the greatest character defining features of an historic structure. They serve as the eyes of the building and with a little bit of routine maintenance, can last for generations.
This workshop is geared towards individuals who would like to get hands-on experience with historic wood windows. Participants will learn how to properly maintain their historic windows. Items to be addressed will be safely removing the paint from the sash, glass cutting, putty, epoxy, woodworking, painting, making a window function, etc.. Participants will learn about many of the available products on the market, their pros and cons, and various methods to apply.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have the knowledge to tackle their own windows!
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: July 26th - 27th 2025
Includes:
$60 in Materials
Limited to: 6 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
This workshop will repair, re-leather, and restore the blacksmith shop bellows at Historic Eastfield Village. Participants in the workshop will learn how a traditional two chambered blacksmith bellows works and is used. The bellows will have new leather stitched together and fit to the sides.
Duration: 3 Days
Date: August 14th - 16th 2025
Includes:
Materials
Limited to: 6 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Old houses can be intimidating. With historic building materials, nothing seems to be plumb or level and everything feels like it needs some love. It can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Fear not!
This class will teach some of the basics of preservation carpentry so that attendees will leave feeling more comfortable tackling their own projects. Utilizing techniques, and the occasional “trick,” picked up over two decades of working on historic houses and museums, the instructor will go over a range of common issues that tend to arise in the life of a historic house.
Participants will get the opportunity to work on the historic fabric of actual structures around Historic Eastfield Village and contribute to the preservation of the site.
The class will also enjoy a hearth cooked dinner party on Saturday night! You will get the full “Eastfield Experience” with this traditional dinner in the candle-lit tavern. As with all programs, you are encouraged to stay the night at the Village’s historic accommodations free of charge.
Accurate measuring
Use of saws, both hand and powered
Dutchman repairs
Rehanging of historic doors
Reinstallation of trim
Building a basic carpentry tool kit and must haves for your reference library!
This class is designed for beginners and those with only a rudimentary knowledge of carpentry.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: August 16th - 17th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Hearth cooked dinner party
Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
TIN I: Basic Tinsmithing - Introduction to the art of tinning designed to provide a basic working knowledge of late 18th & early 19th century tinning tools, construction techniques & pattern layout. The history of American tinning is covered in an illustrated talk. Students construct several reproduction items such as a one-pint mug, a wall sconce, and a coffee pot, etc. All projects are based on traditional designs, using period tools & methods. All tools & tin are supplied for the workshop.
TIN II: Advanced Tinsmithing Designed for those who already have experience & a good basic knowledge of construction methods as well as the use of standard tin tools. Students have access to a large collection of tin pieces which they are invited to examine, measure & copy with the expert help of the instructor.
TIN Ill: 18th-Century Tinsmithing Designed for those who would like Lo produce tinware items in the I 8th-century manner both civilian and military, using only hand tools & methods. Students are encouraged to produce patterns from many available documented I8th-century items.
— All three programs will be run simultaneously in the same location.
Duration: 5 Days
Date: August 25th - 29th 2025
Includes:
$20 in Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Think open hearth cooking and fine dining are an oxymoron? Think again!
With an emphasis on the wide variety of fresh produce and traditional foods available in the late spring, participants will prepare and then dine on six sumptuous hearth-cooked meals over the course of this three-day workshop, all while learning proper fire management and cooking techniques for the hearth and bake oven.
The weekend’s menu includes over 20 “receipts” from period sources ranging from 17th C Paris (LaVarenne) and Amsterdam (The Sensible Cook) to 17th and 18th C London (Glasse, Smith, Dodsley) and early 19th C America (Lee, Rundell, Child).
All cooking tools and ingredients are provided and participants at all skill levels are welcome!
Please note: Workshop not suitable for those with nut allergies.
Please note: Overnight accommodations within the Village encouraged, as Class will run from 1 pm to 7 pm on Day 1, from 9 am to 7 pm on Day 2 and from 9 am to 3pm on Day 3, providing participants dinner on Day 1, lunch and dinner on Day 2 and brunch and an early dinner on Day 3 (to facilitate participant travel home).
Duration: 3 Days
Dates: May 30th - June 1st 2025
Includes:
$60 in Materials
FREE Historic Accommodation
Limited to: 6 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.