Hundreds expected at fort’s Living History Days
Over 450 area elementary and middle school students and teachers are already signed up to attend Living History Days at Fort Griffin State Historic Site on Friday, Oct. 12 to visit the fort and interact with about 100 reenactors portraying day-to-day life in the real Old West.
Fort Griffin program specialist Eric Abercrombie said that the park staff has already gotten RSVPs from Abilene Christian Schools, Jackson Elementary, Seymour Middle School, Graford ISD, Munday, Merkel Middle School, and Betty Hardwick.
“We usually end up with around 600 students,” Abercrombie said. “We expect to hear confirmations from a few more schools, and end up with around that many again this year. However, if it’s rainy, we might see numbers decrease a little.”
The Living History program is free to everyone this year, according to site manager Mitch Baird.
“We are waiving the usual park admission fee this Friday and Saturday,” he said.
Teachers, home school parents, and school administrators wishing to have their students attend the 2018 program are asked to contact Eric Abercrombie, 325-762-3592.
Event Info
Living historians from all over the state will portray life at the fort and the nearby Wild West town as it was in the 1870s.
The event will begin at 8:00 a.m. on both days with demonstrations, education, and authentic frontier history.
Activities and portrayals will include military interpretations, blacksmithing, Buffalo Soldiers, Drummer Boy ice cream, 1800s children’s games, period music by Time Was, Native American culture and dancing, Texas Longhorns, the Texas Camel Corps, and frontier living.
Many different time periods will be represented for a cross selection of U.S. army history spanning more than 100 years.
“Our goal with all of our living history events is for visitors to leave with a greater understanding and passion for history,” said Baird.
Fort Griffin is a State Archeological Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 1701 N. U.S. Hwy. 283, just over 14 miles north of Albany.
