Compass Inn Museum to host living history event this weekend
LAUGHLINTOWN – Compass Inn Museum, a restored 1799 stagecoach stop, will host a living history weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Various 19th-century crafts and skills will be demonstrated and discussed. Visitors can observe woodworking, blacksmithing and coopering. Gun making and the associated art of powder horn decorating will be demonstrated.
The woodworker will have his pit saw on the grounds to show how it was used. A mapmaker will be on hand to discuss how he created his latest work, a 1770s map of Western Pennsylvania.
Other domestic chores will also be performed, including open-hearth cooking, making soap, spinning, weaving and lace making. Children can help dip candles and churn butter. These presentations provide authentic recreations of how things were done in the early 1800s. Crafts will vary each day.
In addition to the demonstrations, there will be an encampment of the 60th Royal American Regiment of Foot. These special activities are free with admission. Compass Inn is located in Laughlintown, three miles east of Ligonier on Route 30. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. There is a small admission charge. For more information, call 724-238-4983 or visit the Web site at www.compassinn.com.