FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 15, 2015
Contact: For more information, contact Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site Supervisor Lenny Krueger at 701.553.8513 or history.nd.gov.
FORT ABERCROMBIE - Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site will open for the season on Saturday, May 23, through Labor Day. Summer hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
On May 23, visitors can experience military training drills of 1862 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. as the 5th Minnesota Infantry Company D 1862 reenactment unit completes drills and training for the new recruits of the unit. Educational guided tours of the site will be available throughout the day.
From May 23 through September 7, Richland Elementary sixth graders’ barn quilts will be featured in the Interpretive Center. Students partnered with Crooked Lane Farm and Folk School, Fort Abercrombie, and the Red River Barn Quilt Association to create barn quilts representing their agricultural community and heritage. Mary Jo Schmid of Crooked Lane Farm taught the barn quilt class at Richland Elementary.
Wednesdays, June 10 through July 29, Civil War Cot Quilting will take place from 9 a.m. to noon. Local quilters will be making several Civil War cot quilts to be presented to the 5th Minnesota Infantry Company D 1862 re-enactors during Aber Days 2015 commemorating the ending of the Civil War 150 years ago. There was an extreme shortage of bedding in hospitals during the four years of the Civil War. Thousands of cot quilts were produced by women's organizations for soldiers recovering in hospitals or to be used as burial quilts. Local quilters are invited to join master quilter, Barb Nicholson, of Kindred, ND, who will be leading the quilting project. The project will involve all donated quilting materials and many volunteer hours. Quilter are encouraged to bring sewing machines and donated materials to the first quilting session on June 10 at the Fort Abercrombie Interpretive Center.
Fort Abercrombie will host a Sunday History Program on Sundays, June 7-August 2, at 2 p.m. The 5th Minnesota Infantry Company D will present Civil War Conversations at the first history program on June 7. Other topics this summer will include Fort Abercrombie, Punitive Expeditions in Dakota Territory, Family Life on the Western Frontier, Transportation on the Red River, Abraham Lincoln, and Ending of the Civil War. Local talent will provide special music. On June 28, Missy Hermes of the Otter Tail Museum, Fergus Falls, MN, will present a special program about the Irish settlements in Otter Tail County and areas surrounding Fort Abercrombie. Accordion player Alyson Hurbrig, Hankison, ND, will provide special Irish tunes. Free and open to the public.
The free Fort Abercrombie Junior Soldiers Program will be Mondays beginning June 8 through August 3, from 10 -11 a.m. Children will learn about Fort Abercrombie and life on the western frontier, play old fashioned games, listen to exciting stories, and complete activities. Fort Abercrombie staff member Barb Myhre is the instructor for the Junior Soldiers Program.
The Fort Abercrombie Historical Authors and Crafters Expo will be August 1 and 2 , from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Authors and crafters will be selling handcrafted items. Fort Abercrombie is seeking historical authors and crafters to participate in the Expo. For more information, call 701.553.8513 or to register.
Fort Abercrombie Historic Site is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 23 to Labor Day. Fort Abercrombie is a state historical site managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
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612 East Boulevard Ave.
Bismarck, North Dakota 58505
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Hours:
State Museum and Store: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F; Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
We are closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. We are closed at noon Christmas Eve if it falls on Mon.-Thurs. and are closed all day if it falls on Fri.-Sun.
State Archives: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F, except state holidays; 2nd Sat. of each month, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Appointments are recommended. To schedule an appointment, please contact us at 701.328.2091 or archives@nd.gov.
State Historical Society offices: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F, except state holidays.
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phone: 701.328.2666
email: history@nd.gov
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