Chesterfield holds historical Memorial Day celebration
Most people spend their Memorial Day doing activities from this era.
But people in Chesterfield spent the day in another era: the 1800s.
The Chesterfield Historical Site is made up of old buildings and homes that have been restored for the public to tour. Everything in Chesterfield is centered around its history.
All the activities for Memorial Day centered around that era too.
There were things like roping techniques and making rope, making butter to spread over homemade bread and jam, and teaching kids to sew on old hand-crank-style machines.
Lynne Whiting, one of the women who helps the kids sew bags, said she enjoys seeing the kids learn to sew. She said the kids to seem to enjoy it too.
“It’s a blast,” Whiting said. “We just really enjoy sharing the skill with the children, getting them interested in something other than video games.”
But DeVaughn Shipley, vice president of the Chesterfield Foundation Board, said it’s not only about having fun, it’s also about educating people.
“It’s really interesting to visit each one of the cabins and hear the history of the people that came here and why they came here, and what their experience was.”
Shipley said they usually have hundreds of people coming through for Memorial Day weekend. But he said they also have quite a few visitors the rest of the season. Last summer, Shipley said about 9,000 people visited the site.
The people who come seem to enjoy it.
“I would come back,” said Carol Baldwin, a first-time visitor to Chesterfield. “We’ve had a great time. I just thought it was really fun.”
Her husband, Darrell Baldwin, agreed.
“This is a great place to see and it’s great to see the heritage and history that’s here.”
“I can promise you that you’ll have a good experience here,” Shipley said.
Each of the buildings has an expert, dressed up in period clothing, who can talk about the history of that building and its importance to Chesterfield.
The historical site is open Mondays through Saturdays until Labor Day.
