Sunday, April 16, the Iron Work Farm will explore the full meaning of Patriots’ Day, which was established to commemorate the start of not one, but two wars in our country’s history. In both wars, the people of Acton and the Faulkner Homestead played an important part. Patriots’ Day Spirit is open to the public for a modest donation—“Give What You Will”. Parking is available in the nearby public lots. The Faulkner Homestead is located at the intersection of Main Street and High Street in South Acton, and is owned and maintained by the Iron Work Farm in Acton, Inc.
Schedule of Events
1:00 PM: three groups of re-enactors will be on hand to mark the April 19, 1861, start of the Civil War.
- Soldiers of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the 12th Georgia Infantry will stage an encampment and hold skirmishes in the Faulkner woods,
- members of “Be What Remains”, the re-enactors of the US Sanitary Commission, will demonstrate the help they gave to the enlisted soldiers during the war.
- A musical ensemble, the “Shades of Gray” will be on hand to perform mid-19th century tunes.
On April 19, 1775, on the first day of the Revolutionary War, local families gathered in the Faulkner dooryard to cook food to take to the Acton militiamen in the field.
Today’s visitors will experience 18th-century home life with:
- outdoor cooking, children’s games, etc.,
- in the Faulkner House, members of the Nashoba Valley Weavers Guild will demonstrate colonial weaving and show off the old “barn frame” loom.
5:30 PM (approximate time): the Acton Minutemen will stage their annual “Robbins’ Ride” reenactment—the arrival of the horse and rider who brought the news to Col. Francis Faulkner earlier that day that the British were marching on Concord.
Monday, April 17, The Acton Minutemen recreate the famous march to Concord over the remnants of the original trail line that Isaac Davis and his men traveled on that fateful day. The Acton Minutemen start off at the Isaac Davis House at 39 Hayward Road in Acton at 5:50 AM, arriving at the Acton Common at 6:20 AM, then march to Concord, arriving at the Old North Bridge about 9:00 AM for a reenactment of the battle. The Acton Minutemen then proceed to the Concord Museum for an encampment starting at 11:00 AM.