Hanford Mills Independence Day Celebration

All are invited to enjoy an old-fashioned Fourth at the Hanford Mills Museum Independence Day Celebration. In addition to demonstrations of the waterwheel, sawmill and vintage woodworking machines, the Museum will be running the boiler and steam power engine. The John Hanford Farmhouse, which recreates home life in the 1920s will also be open to tour.

A popular feature of the Independence Day Celebration is ice cream, made with ice collected at the Museum’s February Ice Harvest. Free samples of vanilla ice cream, made on a steam-powered churn, will be available all day (while supplies last).

Hilton Kelly and the Sidekicks will provide music, and Eagle Ridge BBQ and Origins Café will offer food for sale. Visitors can browse books on local history and other topics by Hobart Book Village. The Plein Aire Painters of Central New York will be on site, and visitors can watch as they capture scenes of Hanford Mills. Shaver-Hill Farm will be selling maple products. Trout Unlimited will be offering fly-fishing demonstrations throughout the day.

“This is a great time to get together and enjoy the Museum with friends and family,” says Executive Director Liz Callahan. “We are grateful to all the organizations joining us for the Fourth to make it extra special for our visitors.”

Special Fun for Kids

There will be a children’s fishing derby on the Mill Pond from 11 am – 2:30 pm, with prizes being awarded for the largest fish. Children 14 and under should bring a pole and bait (or borrow one of the poles that will be available courtesy of the Department of Environmental Conservation in Stamford.) There also will be sack races, tug-of-war, and frog-jumping contests (at 12:30 and 2:30 pm, bring your own frog).  

Exhibits Feature Local Student Photographs, and historic photos taken by Horace and Ralph Hanford

Hanford Mills Museum exhibits include “Our Hometown” with photographs taken by students in the Worcester, Roxbury, Laurens, and Charlotte Valley BOCES CROP program, and “The Hanford Photographs,” with photographs taken by Horace D. Hanford and his son, James Ralph Hanford, from 1890-1920.

Independence Day Celebration activities are all included with regular Museum admission. Children 12 and under, and Museum members receive free admission.

The Hanford Mills Musesum is hosting a day-long celebration for the Fourth of July. The celebration will include a steam-powered homemade ice cream churn, a fishing derby for children, tug-of-war, and frog jumping contests for children. Other events include:

• Book Sale provided by Hobart Book Village
• Maple products sold by Shaver-Hill Farm and cheeses sold by Byebrook Farm
• Delicious food sold by Eagle Ridge BBQ and Origins Cafe
• Guided tours of the Mill and steam engine demonstrations throughout the day
• Live painting demonstrations by members of the Plein Aire Painters of Central New York
• Our Hometown exhibit with photographs by Worcester, Roxbury, Laurens, and Charlotte Valley school students in BOCES CROP program

   Admission:

• $8.50 Adults
• $6.50 Seniors
• FREE for Children age 12 & under and Museum Members

Call 1-800-295-4992 for more information, or check out the museum's website.