The Senate House State Historic Site will celebrate maple season on Saturday April 8, 2017 from 11 am – 3 pm.
Activities include boiling maple sap to syrup, making jack wax candy, baking molasses cornbread and waffles over an open fire, hewing a log into a trough and making wooden buckets and spiles which were used to collect the sap. The First Ulster Militia will re-enact a raid on the sugar bush. Mark Rust will perform traditional 18th century music on a variety of musical instruments including banjo, violin, guitar and spoons.
Collecting maple sap and boiling it down to syrup has had a long tradition in North America. Native Americans in the northeast first collected the sap and boiled it to syrup to sweeten their food. When European colonists arrived, they learned how to process the sap from the Native Americans. It was used as a sweetener, in place of expensive cane sugar, in a variety of foods including oatmeal, waffles, sausage, and baked goods.
This event is free and open to the public. Guided tours of the Senate House will be available at the usual rate of $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, ages 12 and under are free. The site is located on Fair St. in uptown Kingston, NY.
Photo: Senate House, courtesy Senate House State Historic Site.
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