Celebrating Pioneer Heritage As We Travel Back In Time for A Free, Family-Friendly Event!
The fifth annual John Lawson Legacy Days Event will be held on Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the Grifton Historical Museum and Indian Village, 437A Creekshore Dr. in Grifton, Pitt County, North Carolina. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Pioneer Heritage” and the public is invited to join us as we travel back in time for a free, family-friendly event.
English explorer, John Lawson (~1674-1711) was a key player along with others leading up to and during the The Tuscarora War (1711-1715) which was a tumultuous time in Eastern North Carolina history. It is one of the defining events not only in our local history, but it also influenced the later development of North Carolina.
The event will begin on Friday, October 23, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Grifton Museum with an open house, tours of the military encampments, nighttime cannon firing along Contentnea Creek, and more.
A chili supper is available for $5 per person.
On Saturday, October 24, the event continues at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Grifton Museum with the following activities available throughout the day: tour the Grifton Museum & Indian Village Re-Creation; see Primitive Technologies demonstrations; tour the military encampments and visit with Colonial and Civil War Re-Enactors; meet Living Historians featuring the Northampton Battery Artillery, the Carolina Living History Guild, and others; see daytime cannon firings; visit exhibitors, crafters, spinners, weavers, basket makers, potters, blacksmiths, and soapmakers; take a boat ride on Historic Contentnea Creek; see Steamy Gene’s Steam Engines; view antique tractors, trucks, pumps, farm displays, and tools; dig in the Aurora Fossil pit; participate in the raffle and silent auction; register for door prize drawings, and more!
Four historical presentations will be featured on Saturday:
10 a.m., “John Lawson Trek: A Journey of Rediscovery” by Mr. Scott Huler of LawsonTrek.com
11 a.m., “North Carolina Civil War Center and Stories Project” by Mr. David Winslow and Mr. Leonard Lanier of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, NCCivilWarCenter.org
12 Noon, Lunch items available for sale include hot dogs, sausage dogs, butter beans & sausage, drinks, and desserts.
1 p.m., “Have We Found The Lost Colony?: The Latest Evidence” by Dr. Charles Ewen, ECU professor
2 p.m., “Archaeology at Koon’s Landing on Contentnea Creek, Grifton” by Ms. Paige Ford and Ms. Amy Dubis, ECU anthropology graduate students.
We would like to thank our event partners and supporters for making this event possible: HardeeAndHardee.com, Reflector.com, GriftonMuseum.com, Grifton.com, ATimeForScience.org, KingsBBQ.com, Suddenlink.com, Carolina Living History Guild, ENCFamilies.org, The John Lawson Legacy Days Committee, and others.
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s free event in “Celebrating Pioneer Heritage” in Grifton. For more info, please visit JohnLawsonLegacyDays.org or call 252.524.0190.
Submitted by: David French, The Family History Center of Eastern North Carolina