History Tours and Special Exhibit Featured at the Great Road Heritage Campus

On Sunday afternoon, June 25th, the historic sites at Lincoln's Great Road Historic Campus will host guided tours at all four 19th century properties, some with some special features on this day.  The tours offer something of interest to everyone and all ages. 

At  Hearthside, the special exhibit "Woven Time: A History of the Talbot Family," details the period from 1904-1926 that the Talbot family lived here and brought national prominence to the house they named Hearthside and the superb hand weaving that they did in the attic.  The same year that the Talbots moved to Hearthside, it had been the model for the design of the Rhode Island Building at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.  The Talbots were at the forefront of the Arts & Crafts movement in this country, as well as the Colonial Revival.  Famous photographers used the house and family as their model for producing popular hand-colored photographs.

The family also collected miniature furniture and toys which filled the home.  When they moved out of Hearthside in 1926, the miniatures were donated to the RISD Museum.  In 2021, those same miniatures returned to Hearthside. Learn the stories of this fascinating family plus see the special exhibits of  hand-colored photographs, weaving equipment, pattern examples, and many of the miniatures which have returned to Hearthside, as well as displays of world events during that time period that they lived here. The first tour begins at 12:30, with staggered admissions up to 2:30.

Head over to Chase Farm to visit the one-room schoolhouse and blacksmith shop and while you are there, take a look at the newly-installed Great Road Mural, which is being dedicated on June 21st.  This pen and ink illustration is an amazing piece of artwork that details what Great Road looked like during the 19th century.  With some 30 historic buildings included in it, there are also special features added, which make for a fun scavenger hunt as you study the mural.  The 10-foot, free-standing mural is located at the side of the Visitors Center which you pass by to walk to the schoolhouse.  The mural represents the crowning touch to the Great Road Heritage Campus, concluding the 30-year development of the Campus as a historic destination.

The Moffett Mill offers a rare opportunity to step back into a different century.  Built in 1812, this relic of the early

 Industrial Revolution is frozen in time, as it still appears the same as it did when its doors closed around 1900.  The mill operated with water power from the Moshassuck River and provided custom work and repairs for area businesses and farms, from wagons, buggies and tools to laces for shoes and corsets around the period of the Civil War.  The original equipment and tools are still in place, just as they were 120 years ago.  A shuttle transport will drop off and pick up visitors on a set schedule, as this is the only safe access to the Mill. The last tour is at 3:30 p.m. Admission to the Mill  is included in the admission fee at Hearthside, or if only visiting the Mill, it is $5/person. The only safe access to the Mill is by the Campus shuttle van.   

The charming one-room Pullen's Corner Schoolhouse is still a great place to learn.  The school, also known as the "Hot Potato Schoolhouse," was Lincoln's last operating one-room schoolhouse, from its opening in 1850 till closing in 1922. Sit at an old school desk and write on slates, get your lesson of the day from the school marm, or put on the dunce cap if you don't pay attention in class.  Play old-fashioned games much like the kids who attended here would have done.  Students then ranged from kindergarten to 8th grade all in the same classroom. Visits to the schoolhouse are $5/family payable in cash upon arrival, or included as part of the general admission for tours of the full Campus.  The schoolhouse opens at 12:30 and will accept the last visitors at 3:30 p.m.    
 

While at the schoolhouse be sure to stop by the Visitors Center where you may view the newly-installed artist mural of "Great Road in the 19th Century."  This pen-and-ink illustration depicts many of the historic buildings along Great Road still seen today, but also many that no longer exist.  There are 30 historic structures that are included in the 10-foot mural.  

At the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop, the blacksmith demonstrates at the forge while explaining the history of this original shop and the blacksmithing trade that occurred here.  Admission is free and visitors are welcome to stay as little or as long as they like. This is a drop-in visit so no advance scheduling is required. 

Admittance times for the tours are staggered so as to avoid crowding, therefore advance registration is recommended.  While walk-ins may be accepted, there is no guarantee that the time slot will have openings so some flexibility would be required in the order of the tours. The first tours at all the sites begin at 12:30 with the last tour at Hearthside at 2:30 and at the other sites at 3:30.  Registration is suggested in advance at www.hearthsidehouse.org 

The $12 general admission includes the tour and exhibit at Hearthside, plus the schoolhouse exhibit and tours at the other three sites; $6 for youth under age 12.  Hearthside members who are current in their dues receive free admission.  As you plan your day, know that Hearthside tours take around 1 hour, 15 min. so don't book tours too close; you'll need to add in travel time.  The last tour at Hearthside begins at 2:30 and at the other sites at 3:30.  All sites open at 12:30 and close at 4:00 p.m.

Visitors are asked to check in at Hearthside first before heading out on your tours.  Here you will pay admission and receive an admission bracelet, and then take the shuttle van to visit the Mill and the other Campus sites. The tours may be taken in any order.   Parking is in the grass lot across from Hearthside. The shuttle van leaves from Hearthside and runs continuously between the sites.