It’s back to the future for Chadds Ford Days. And if Sandi Johnson has her way, it will start with a bang.
Johnson is the Chadds Ford Historical Society’s director of operations. She said she wants the gates to open on the event’s opening day with the sound of a cannon report. That’s not directly old school Chadds Ford Days, but it does relate to why the event began more than 60 years ago.
Chadds Ford Days, which became a fundraiser for the Chadds Ford Historical Society, has been around in one incarnation or another since Chris Sanderson started it all in 1958. But the event didn’t become annual until later in the 1960s. And since 2018, there’s been only one.
Public interest in the event had waned over the years despite efforts made by Historical Society boards and volunteers to keep it energized. Competition was stiff. The Kennett Mushroom Festival and the Brandywine Festival of the Arts were held the same weekend as Chadds Ford Days.
A previous CFHS board decided not to have the event in 2018. It returned in 2019 but COVID wiped it out for 2020. Last year the Historical Society held a skirmish re-enactment, but that was not an official Chadds Ford Days.
But it’s back again, and Johnson said the idea is “to take it back to its roots.”
Those roots, she said, go back to 1958 when Sanderson wanted the event to commemorate the Sept. 11, 1777, Battle of Brandywine, fought in Chadds Ford and Birmingham townships.
To that end, Chadds Ford Days 2022 — now formally called Battle at Chadds Ford/Historic Chadds Ford Days — is scheduled for Sept. 10 and 11 and is about 18thcentury life, civilian as well as military.
“We want to keep Chadds Ford Days [in the name] so people will have an understanding that it is traditional, but we’re changing it to emphasize the battle, along with the history and the education,” Johnson said. “Also, 18th century demonstration will be a much bigger part, including 18th century living.”
Those demonstrators include blacksmiths, glassblowers, sutlers — the shopkeepers and peddlers who sold provisions — candlemakers, and colonial dancers.
And that emphasis on colonial-era crafts is part of the root of Chadds Ford Days.
“All different facets will be out there for people to learn about those trades of the colonial period,” Johnson said. “About 30 to 40 years ago, during Chadds Ford Days, the only people on that field were demonstrating colonial crafts, but then that died out because they couldn’t get the numbers, so they started mixing in modern crafters. And then it got to the point where it was all modern.”
But there were no contemporary crafters at last year’s event, and Johnson said no one complained about their absence. So, she decided to take Chadds Ford Days back to its focus on things colonial.
Johnson said she expects about 100 re-enactors from eight different regiments to take part in the battle demonstration, but there will also be about two dozen women in the roles of camp followers, those who cooked, did laundry, as well as mending and sewing torn uniforms.
There will be two skirmish demonstrations each day interspersed with musket and cannon firing demos, but the focus is on history and education, Johnson said.
The educational aspect, beyond the military demonstrations, will also include a series of lectures on both days focusing on civilian life and how the Battle of Brandywine affected civilian life, especially among the Quaker population.
Johnson said there would be fewer contemporary crafters at the event this year, maybe about 15. But emphasized “the main focus now is on the 18th century. The history of this place is the 18th century. We need to have at least one event that’s structured around that,” she said.
There will also be activities designed specifically for youngsters, Johnson said. Those include paper making, tin punching, candle making, marble making, sewing, and pincushion making through the entire event, Johnson said.
In addition, there will be some colonial beer-making, food vendors, and live music. Among the entertainers will be long-time favorite balladeer Charlie Zahm, who will perform on Sunday, Sept. 11.
The cannon shot to start the event is expected at 10 a.m. that Saturday. At 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, the actual 245th anniversary of the battle, there will also be a ceremony commemorating the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Admission is $10 for adults 18 and older, $5 for youngsters 7-17, and free for younger kids and CFHS members.
For more information and a list of lectures and speakers, go here.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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