Baird Homestead to host Millstone Harvest Fest

By MAUREEN DAYE
Correspondent

MILLSTONE — The second annual Harvest Fest will be held at The Baird Homestead, 24 Baird Road, Millstone Township, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Oct. 17.

Hosts for the event include the Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties, the Millstone Township Historic Commission and the Millstone Township Agricultural Council.

The Harvest Fest will have activities for people of all ages, including hay rides, a petting zoo, face painting, arts and crafts for children, and other attractions, according to organizers. A variety of foods will be available.

As part of the historical experience at the Harvest Fest, Sara Baird will be portrayed by a young historian who will entertain her audience and give a glimpse of a figure from the 1830s. There will be tours of the homestead. Local historians said the structure originally was a Federal farmhouse built around 1830 by Thomas Baird, who lived there all his life.

Mary Lepping, event planning co-chair for the Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties, said she is excited about event because it is a time to share a passion for history.

“The Harvest Fest is important to me because of my love of history, especially local history,” Lepping said. “Being able to be involved with preserving a prominent historic local home for future generations is quite rewarding.”

Some 30 volunteers worked together to make Harvest Fest an exceptional event, Lepping said. They began to work on organizing the 2015 event immediately after the first event last year.

“We began right after the first Harvest Fest while it was fresh in our minds of what to tweak,” she said. “The more intensive planning got underway during May and June.”

Lepping believes it is significant and meaningful that the Harvest Fest is held at the Baird Homestead. She said the Baird family were prominent early settlers to an area that was subsequently named Bairdsville.

Thomas Baird’s father, Capt. David Baird, was a Revolutionary War participant who owned 400 acres in Millstone Township and had deeds dating back to the 1700s.

Plans call for the Baird Homestead to house an agricultural and cultural museum, as well as the historic home, library and working classrooms where students can visit, complete scouting projects and learn about the historic flavor of Millstone.

Proceeds from the Harvest Fest will be used to support educational programming and help maintain the Baird Homestead, Lepping said.

“We are very excited to have a big autumn event right in our own backyard, where people can have fun, good food and learn about local history at the same time,” she said. “My favorite Harvest Fest memory was the success of our very first one last year. You can never predict the outcome of an event the first year, so to see so many people attending and enjoying themselves is a great memory.”