Experience 1776: The Sights, Skills & Sounds of History
Discover the stories behind the demonstrations and exhibits at the America 250 Heritage Festival on September 12, 2026
The idea behind the America 250 Heritage Festival: Celebrating Clayton’s Story is to offer a glimpse of the work, skills, sounds and everyday activities that might have been familiar in a Johnston County community around 1776—93 years before the Town of Clayton was incorporated.
As you explore the festival, many of the demonstrations and exhibits have a story to tell about how people lived, worked and adapted in Revolutionary-era North Carolina.
Candles were an important source of indoor light in colonial homes. Because candlelight was dim and candles required time and materials to make, people generally made the most of daylight for work. After dark, household activities became considerably more limited.
Spinning wheels turned fibers such as wool, flax and cotton into yarn for cloth and clothing. But during the Revolutionary era, spinning also took on political meaning. Colonial women organized “spinning bees” and produced homespun cloth rather than buying imported British textiles. Wearing homespun became a symbol of both self-reliance and resistance to British rule.
Blacksmiths were essential members of colonial communities, making and repairing farm tools, household goods, transportation equipment and other ironwork. Their skills helped keep farms working, wagons moving and communities functioning.
Many of the hand tools used by craftsmen 250 years ago would look surprisingly familiar today. Saws, chisels, planes, hammers, drawknives and spokeshaves cut and shaped wood, while compasses, calipers, squares and bevels helped craftsmen work accurately. The materials may have changed, but many of the basic designs have not.
Beekeeping was generally a small-scale household activity. Bees provided honey as a valuable sweetener and beeswax for candles and other uses—making the hive another useful part of a largely self-sufficient household economy.
Children’s toys were often homemade.
Rag dolls, fashioned from scraps of cloth and other available materials, reflected both the thrift and creativity of colonial families. A simple handmade doll could provide companionship and play without requiring anything to be purchased.
Birds of prey were a familiar part of North Carolina’s natural landscape, just as they are today. Falconry—the training of hawks and falcons for hunting—was an old tradition brought to North America from Europe, while Indigenous peoples had their own extensive knowledge of native birds and wildlife. Today’s birds-of-prey exhibition offers an opportunity to see these remarkable hunters up close and learn about their place in the natural world.
Food is part of our history, too. Brunswick stew came later than the Revolutionary era, but became a familiar Southern tradition associated with outdoor gatherings, barbecues and community meals. Cooked slowly in large pots and easily prepared for a crowd, it represents the communal food traditions that developed across the rural South.
And then there were the sounds of revolution. By 1776, fife and drum music was an essential part of American military life. These portable instruments kept soldiers marching together, communicated signals and commands, marked the time of day and helped maintain morale. Their distinctive sound became part of the rhythm of military life during the Revolutionary War.
The principal infantry weapons of the Revolutionary era included muskets and rifles. Smoothbore muskets could be loaded and fired more quickly than rifles and could be fitted with bayonets, making them particularly useful for military formations. Flintlock firearms—including the famous British “Brown Bess”—became enduring symbols of the Revolutionary battlefield.
Finally, medicine looked very different 250 years ago. Natural medicines and apothecary practices drew upon plants, roots and other materials found in nature. Healing traditions in colonial North Carolina reflected a mixture of Indigenous knowledge, European herbal practices, African traditions and the limited medical understanding of the period.
Taken together, these demonstrations offer more than a look at old-fashioned crafts. They provide small windows into a world where most things were made by hand, daylight governed the working day, skills were passed from one generation to the next—and even something as ordinary as spinning thread into cloth could become an act of revolution.
Beer and taverns were part of everyday life in colonial America. Taverns and “ordinaries”—establishments offering food, drink and often lodging—served travelers and became important gathering places where people exchanged news, conducted business and discussed the issues of the day. Beer and other fermented drinks were commonly served alongside meals.
At the festival, that tradition is remembered through Gregory’s Ordinary, a limited-run American lager inspired by the Clayton Historical Association and brewed especially for the occasion by Deep River Brewing. The beer is named for Etheldred Gregory, who operated an ordinary at Hinton’s Quarter, near present-day Clayton.
America 250 Heritage Festival: Celebrating Clayton’s Story
Saturday, September 12 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Clayton Town Square | 100 W. Main Street | Clayton, NC
Festival admission is FREE
The America 250 Heritage Festival is sponsored by: Clayton Historical Association, Inc.- DukeEnergy - Hometowne Realty (HTR) and “Aila’s Journal” by Charles Clemmons
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