Historic Trades Day

About this event

Have you ever spent an afternoon with one of our blacksmiths as they make one-of-a-kind objects for use on our historic farms? Have you ever wondered how buckets and barrels are made? Step back in time at our Historic Trades Day! Talk to expert artisans and watch as they demonstrate their craft using time-honored techniques. With a variety of unique hand-crafted items to explore, you’re sure to find something interesting. You might even find something to take home! This event is general admission and is included in the Annual Pass Program. Meet the Demonstrators Marshall Scheetz Marshall Scheetz is a Michigan-born living historian, traditional cooper, historic farmer, writer, and artist based in Virginia. After completing a six-year apprenticeship under a traditionally trained master cooper, he has devoted his career to preserving and advancing one of the world’s oldest crafts. Scheetz practices all types of coopering, producing historically accurate reproductions of period cooperage. His work is grounded in historical research and explores the craftsmanship, technology, and culture of coopering. He is widely regarded as one of the few traditionally practicing coopers in the United States. Beyond coopering, Scheetz studies early modern regenerative agriculture and the traditional crafts that sustained rural life. He believes every historic trade is a repository of knowledge about what the human hand is capable of, and his work seeks to preserve both the physical objects and the ideas embodied within them. His work is represented in private and museum collections, including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Monticello, and the Nantucket Historical Association. Gretchen Johnson A 20-year veteran of museums and living history, Gretchen Johnson has been fortunate enough to work at all three points of the Historic Triangle. Along the way she gained a passion for different aspects of textile production, particularly…