Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park (SHP) is proud to present a special “Hands on History: Hard Working Women of the Frontier” event on Saturday, March 15. As an event highlight and in honor of “Women’s History Month,” Fort visitors will have the opportunity to hear from special guest Cheryl Stapp, historian and author of Disaster & Triumph: Sacramento Women, Gold Rush Through the Civil War and Sacramento Chronicles: A Golden Past. Cheryl will be on-site to give presentations and answer questions about frontier women in California and their role in family and community (she will also be available to sign copies of her books, available for purchase in the Fort Trade Store). At this special event, Fort visitors will realize that emigrant women were not well-to-do Victorian ladies with pretty clothes who lived a life of leisure. In contrast, simply getting enough hot water to wash their faces in the morning was an effort, and pioneer women were vital economic partners in families, many of whom set up their own businesses selling eggs, milk, or baked goods to neighbors and travelers. With special artifacts on display, Fort guests will enjoy crowd-favorite black powder and musket demonstrations, dutch-oven cooking demonstrations, and an interactive wagon trail camp for visitors to experience what it was like to camp as part of a wagon train. Fort guests will also learn to carry water buckets, use a yoke, decide what supplies are necessary for the trip, help load the wagon and climb inside an authentic covered wagon to feel what it was like to journey across country. Sutter’s Fort SHP is open daily and more information is available at 916-445-4422 or www.suttersfort.org
What:
Hands on History: Hard Working Women of the Frontier
Where:
Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park
2701 L Street, Midtown, Sacramento
When:
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Time:
Fort hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open daily)
Cannon firing demonstrations: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Stapp presentations: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.
Musket demonstrations periodically throughout the day
Cost:
$7 per adult (18 and older), $5 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under
For More:
Call 916-445-4422 or visit www.suttersfort.org
About Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park
Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is operated by California State Parks with financial assistance from the nonprofit Friends of Sutter’s Fort. Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located in midtown Sacramento on L Street between 26th and 28th Streets, the Fort offers monthly “Hands on History” activities and special events throughout the year. Established in 1839 by Swiss immigrant John Augustus Sutter, Sutter’s Fort was at the center of a flourishing agricultural empire named New Helvetia (New Switzerland.) This empire established Sacramento’s earliest settlement and the first European settlement in California’s Central Valley. For more information, call (916) 445-4422 or visit www.suttersfort.org
