News Release

CELEBRATE LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH FORT SCOTT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

A soldier and laundress preparing watermelon
A soldier and laundress preparing watermelon

NPS Photo

Subscribe RSS Icon | What is RSS
News Release Date: August 21, 2018

Contact: Carl Brenner, 620-223-0310

Celebrate the Dignity and Importance of Labor, 1840s style


Saturday, September 1 through Monday, September 3. 2018, Fort Scott National Historic Site (FOSC) will commemorate Labor Day weekend with artillery, horses, music, living history demonstrations and a series of interpretive programs. All programs are free.

Saturday, September 1st
10:00 a.m. “Flour, Sweat, and Tears”: 1840s Bakehouse Program 
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demonstration
12:00 p.m. “Hardy Dashing Fellows” Dragoon Soldier Program
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour of Fort Scott National Historic Site
2:00 p.m. “Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: 1840s style” –Officers’ Wife Program (letter writing)
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

Sunday, September 2nd
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
12:00 p.m. “Saws and Scalpels: Civil War Medicine”
1:00 p.m.   “Crack Post of the Frontier” Guided Tour-Construction History of Fort Scott
2:00 p.m.  “The Griffith Trial: A Marais des Cygnes Conviction”
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demo
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat

Monday, September 3rd
11:00 a.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demonstration
12:00 p.m. “Fort Scott Soldier Ants” 1840s Construction Demonstration
1:00 p.m. Guided Tour of Fort Scott National Historic Site
2:00 p.m. Musical Program-Holmes Brigade Minstrels
2:30 p.m.-Free Ice Cream-courtesy of Friends of Fort Scott NHS
3:00 p.m. Thunder Wagon: 1840s Artillery Demonstration
3:30 p.m. Musical Program -Holmes Brigade Minstrels
4:00 p.m. Flag Retreat


The thunder of artillery will sound each day at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. with a short program explaining how the gun is fired. Other programs offered throughout the weekend are Guided tours at 1:00 p.m. and a flag retreat ceremony at 4:00 p.m. occur each day.

On Saturday, living history interpreters will be cooking in the mess hall and baking bread in the bakehouse with an interpretive program about the bakehouse at 10:00 a.m. At 12:00 p.m. a program about dragoon soldiers titled “Hardy Dashing Fellows” and at 2:00 p.m. an officer’s wife will be sharing the latest gossip in the program “Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: 1840s style.”

On Sunday, September 2, in the program “The Griffith Trial: A Marais des Cygnes Conviction”, Park Ranger Robert Thomas will lead a reenactment of the trial of William Griffith, the only man to be convicted of the Marais des Cygnes Massacre. Also on Sunday, you can learn about Civil War medicine in “Saws and Scalpels.”

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” This quote from Martin Luther King can be applied to the workers of modern times as well as those who labored to build and maintain Fort Scott. A special tour on Sunday “From the Crack Post of the Frontier:” will focus on the labor force, building materials, architectural styles, and construction techniques used in the building of Fort Scott. 

Programs on Monday, September 3 will include a Labor Day construction demonstration, musical programs offered by the Holmes Brigade Minstrels and free ice cream at 2:30 p.m., served to honor all those who have worked hard to build America. The ice cream is being offered courtesy of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site.



Last updated: August 23, 2018

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

PO Box 918
Fort Scott, KS 66701

Phone:

620 223-0310

Contact Us