There’s never any shortage of great shows to attend on Labor Day Weekend. From the Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, to the Rock River Thresheree in Wisconsin to Rudin’s Olde Tyme Farm Days in Owego, N.Y., almost every part of the country has a classic on tap that weekend. Another to consider? The Jersey County Victorian Festival in Jerseyville, III.
Held on a 60-acre farm that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the festival boasts an ambitious line-up: everything from Civil War reenactments to stage coach hold-ups to farm equipment displays and exhibits.
During the three-day event, there’s tours of the 1866 Fulkerson Mansion, antique arts and crafts, Victorian/Civil War style show, live delivery of the Gettysburg Address, Bluegrass music, blacksmithing, plowing with steam, tractors and draft horses, threshing and sawing. Tours are also offered of the decades-old Hamilton Primary School and the Historical Museum, and “Christmas in September” is celebrated in the Fulkerson Mansion. FC
For more information: Historical Steam and Living History, Inc., 1510 North State Street, Jerseyville, IL 62052; phone/fax (618) 498-5590; e-mail: hazeldell@gtec.com.
