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New Colonial Sense article on the Swedish Cabin, a 17th century log cabin in Drexel Hill, PA. Includes history, architectural details, usage, etc.

Colonial Sense visited the home of our first President, Mount Vernon on October 5, 2011. Our first part at the tour was taken in the interior of George Washington's Mansion. As a three year old in 1735, George lived on the property with his father, Augustine Washington, and family. Augustine acquired the property from his sister in 1726. The Mansion at Mount Vernon did not exist as we know it today, although a home existed on the site. By 1740, the property was given to George's older half-brother, Lawrence Washington. Prior to his death in 1752, Lawrence razed the original house and built a new one and one-half story home wider and longer likely on the site of the original foundation. The initials "LW" were found on a small rectangular stone in the partition wall of the Mansion basement. The stone would have been originally as a foundation corner of Lawrence's newly constructed home. It would have been moved into the wall by George Washington during the reconstruction of the basement in the 1770's.

The 3rd Annual Market at Washingtonburg was held at the US Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on September 10-12 this year. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, various demonstrations were held to reflect the the period when the Carlisle Barracks was known as Washingtonburg during the Revolutionary War. The Carlisle Barracks was established during the French and Indian War. There were demonstrations of French and Indian War field tactics, the use of an 18th century forge, and Revolutionary War tactics.

During Colonial times in Durham County, North Carolina, there was a plantation which extended from the east of the Flat River almost to West Point on the Eno, and from the vicinity of Bahama on the northwest past the Neuse River into Wake County on the southeast. The land covered 30,000 acres and more than 973 slaves worked the fertile land.

On December 4, 2010, The Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester, Pennsylvania will be holding their Candlelight Tour of the colonial home. The path to the home will be lit with soft glow candlelights. The Farmstead will be showcasing period music and seasonal decorations.

On Saturday, December the 4th 2010, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site held its annual Iron Plantation Christmas. Today the furnace was quiet prior to the Christmas Holidays. However, during Christmas when the furnace was operating in the nineteenth century, Christmas was just another work day. Hopewell Village was a small self-sustaining village in colonial times which was built around a cold-blast, charcoal-burning iron furnace. The community life was in some respects similar to that of the small feudal manors of medieval Europe and was largely self-sustaining. Little had changed of the village from colonial times up through most of the nineteenth century.

East Berlin, Pennsylvania held their Annual Christmas House Tour on December 12, 2010. A little bit of rain did not dampen the holiday spirits of the people who paid $12 to tour the homes, church, and buildings owned by the East Berlin Historical Preservation Society. East Berlin has its share of colonial home open to the public along with a Victorian Bed and Breakfast.

Colonial Sense would like to share another yearly Christmas House Tour in one of the nation's oldest parks, Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We visited the Park on December 10, 2010. The mansion tours were begun 38 years ago with the help of V. Elizabeth Person who recently died.

It takes a vision to preserve historic sites, towns, villages, like the Rockefellers of Williamsburg, or Electra Havermeyer Webb of Shelburne Museum, or the Flynts of Deerfield. Because of their vision, many towns have been saved from the eminent destruction of their existence.

Rome Reborn is an international initiative whose goal is the creation of 3D digital models illustrating the urban development of ancient Rome from the first settlement in the late Bronze Age (ca. 1000 B.C.) to the depopulation of the city in the early Middle Ages (ca. A.D. 550).

New article at Colonial Sense on the upcoming Historic New England homes tour.