GLENMOORE, PA — Cannon fire, Continental soldiers, colonial cooking and even an archaeological dig will turn the Warwick Furnace valley into a living history experience as the community celebrates America’s 250th anniversary.
Warwick Township’s America 250 Celebration will stretch along Warwick Furnace Road on Sept. 19, bringing reenactors, historians, musicians, craftspeople and regional historic organizations together at sites that played a role in the Revolutionary era.
The setting carries its own remarkable history. Warwick Furnace produced cannon for the Revolutionary War, and George Taylor, who once worked there as a clerk, later signed the Declaration of Independence. George Washington’s army camped in the area on Sept. 17 and 18, 1777, and an Alexander Hamilton letter to John Hancock was written from Warwick Furnace.
Visitors will be able to explore that history across Warwick Furnace Farm, the Warwick Furnace Ruins, the French & Pickering Thomas P. Bentley Preserve and Hockley Mill.
An encampment by the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line will help recreate the atmosphere of the period, while historical interpreters portraying Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and other colonial figures will mingle with visitors throughout the day.
Replica cannon firings are scheduled alongside demonstrations of colonial cooking, period crafts and Revolutionary-era skills.
One particularly hands-on connection to the past will come through an archaeological demonstration near the site where a cannon was discovered. The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Chapter 21, will lead the activity.
History Around Every Corner
The day’s tentative lecture program begins at 10 a.m. with an opening ceremony, Pledge of Allegiance and replica cannon firing.
At 11 a.m., local historian Dan Graham will discuss Pennsylvania’s colonial iron industry. Ray Bentley will present “Unearthing Cannons” at noon, when the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment will also offer a colonial cooking demonstration.
At 1 p.m., visitors can hear readings from correspondence by George Washington and Alexander Hamilton alongside accounts of local Revolutionary-era events.
Graham returns at 2 p.m. for a presentation on the 1777 invasion and the role ironmasters played in supporting the war effort.
The 3 p.m. program includes presentations from Hopewell Furnace and on the Goshen long rifle, followed by a final cannon firing at 4 p.m.
Event Details
- What: America 250 Celebration at Warwick Furnace Farm
- When: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: Warwick Furnace Farm, 810 Warwick Furnace Road, Glenmoore, PA 19343, with activities extending through the Warwick Furnace valley
- Cost/Tickets: Free; tintype portraits carry a separate fee
- More Info: https://www.warwickfurnacefarm.com/reservations/250celebration
Crafts, Music and Family Activities
Not every history lesson will come from a lecture.
Midnight on the Water will perform colonial music on period instruments, while Robin Ashby will demonstrate paper marbling and discuss colonial printing traditions. Visitors can try quill writing with the Pennsylvania Colonial Farmstead, explore a Benjamin Franklin invention table and sit down for “Coffee with a Colonial,” featuring conversations with a tailor portrayed by Sam Leamer.
The Chester County History Center will bring colonial games and toys for families, while artists will paint the reenactment scene en plein air.
Visitors can also have a tintype portrait made by Vanity Tintype for an additional fee or take a scenic hay wagon ride to Hockley Mill.
Inside the dairy barn gallery, an exhibition will bring together Warwick Furnace artifacts, documents, maps, letters and journals.
Regional organizations participating in the celebration include Hopewell Furnace, Pottsgrove Manor and the George Taylor House, the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum, Historic Sugartown, Historic Trappe, the Chester County History Center and Colonial Pennsylvania Farmstead.
Historic-style vendors will add another layer to the day, with participants including 18th Century Restorations, Atwater Designs, BookGrrl Bindery, Country Lane Flowers, Duck Decoys, Glasslight Studio, Levantine Rose, The Local Wild, Powder Horns and Knives, and Vanity Tintypes.
Food will be available from Epicurean Garage, Joanna Food Wagon, Nuses Deli, AJ’s Water Ice and Pop’s Grill.
The celebration is designed to make the semiquincentennial more than a distant anniversary. At Warwick Furnace, visitors will be able to walk through the same valley where Revolutionary-era ironworkers labored, Washington’s troops camped and correspondence from the struggle for independence was written.
Nearly 250 years later, the landscape will once again fill with soldiers, craftspeople, music and cannon fire — this time inviting a new generation to step into the story.
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