The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is still very much alive in local historians’ minds after the Fourth of July this year.
This weekend, historians in both Southold and Cutchogue will be reminding the public of the North Fork’s role in the fight for independence, during which many patriots here fled to Connecticut to avoid the British occupation of Long Island.
On Friday, July 10, Southold Town Historian Amy Folk will give another presentation of the first lecture in her 250th anniversary series, “The Run-Up to the Revolution,” at the Southold Historical Society’s Maple Lane Campus at 1 p.m. She will discuss the period from 1765 to August of 1776 on the North Fork, “the years that drove our nation to what some historians call its first civil war.”
Her talk is the precursor to a Living History Revolutionary Encampment and America’s Birthday Party at the Maple Lane Campus on Saturday, July 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Third New York Regiment will be on hand for a day of demonstrations of colonial life and military practice, including sampling of food from the time period and a birthday cake for America.
“We have re-enactors, live music and a Hamilton sing-along. We have live bread baking demonstrations and colonial cooking demonstrations, and we’re going to make what’s known as George Washington’s Great Cake,” Museum Director Darren St. George told the Southold Town Board at its June 30 meeting during a presentation on the 250th by local historical societies. “We will also have parmesan ice cream. If you think of it more as a cheesecake ice cream, it makes more sense.”
Here’s More Info about the Southold Historical Society’s America 250-related events.
The Great Debate
The Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council is organizing a “Great Debate between Cutchogue’s most notable Revolutionary War nemeses, loyalist Parker Wickham and Patriot Jared Landon,” this Saturday, July 11 at 1 p.m. at the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library.
“The town truly wasn’t big enough for the two of them,” according to the Historical Council. “The winner not only won their independence, but also the keys to the Old House.”
The Old House on the Cutchogue Village Green, believed to date back to 1649, “has a very interesting Revolutionary War history,” Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Society Executive Director Mark MacNish told the Southold Town Board at the June 30 meeting. “Parker Wickham, who was a Loyalist, owned the Old House, and he famously lost it to Jared Landen in a very interesting Revolutionary War story…. The debate really brings to life that story. They’re both going to debate the merits of patriotism and loyalism.”
Registration to attend the debate is required, through the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library.
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