Conococheague Institute

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Conococheague Institute Where history, nature, and community meet! Explore 18th-century life at the Conococheague Institute located at 12995 Bain Rd, Mercersburg, PA 17236.
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We have so many exciting professional historians presenting this Saturday at our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event!...
10/07/2026

We have so many exciting professional historians presenting this Saturday at our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event!

Here are three more you won’t want to miss:

Drew Shuptar Rayvis will bring Algonkian living history and harvest traditions to life, sharing perspectives and practices connected to the Native peoples who have called this region home for generations.

Oakgrove Farm - Museum of Libations will be putting their brewing skills to work with a special 18th century inspired porter! Come learn about the brewing traditions of the period, and, for those of age, engage the senses with some of our recent brews.

The German Regiment will portray Revolutionary War soldiers on furlough and in the midst of recruitment, giving visitors a glimpse into the lives of ordinary troops between campaigns. Expect plenty of conversation about military life, service, and the realities of keeping an army in the field.

And these are just three of the historians and living history presenters joining us!

Come spend the day at the Conococheague Institute experiencing the sights, sounds, food, music, traditions, and stories of 1776, from the harvest field to the tavern and beyond.

1776: Harvest on the Homestead
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Noon–8 PM
Conococheague Institute
12995 Bain Rd, Mercersburg, PA 17236

This is a free event, and all are welcome! Share this post with friends and plan to attend.

You can’t have a harvest bonfire without something to burn, so last night we had the soccer team from Mercersburg Academ...
10/07/2026

You can’t have a harvest bonfire without something to burn, so last night we had the soccer team from Mercersburg Academy volunteering to help us build one!

Over the summer, our environmental interns removed a lot of invasive honeysuckle from our trails. So, we pointed the players toward piles of bush honeysuckle and ailanthus that had now dried out, and had them running from our wetlands area to our green, stacking the combustibles.

In extra time, like all our wonderful helpers, they gave the animals some bonding time, which they always crave!

Building a bonfire for our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event, removing invasive plants, and supporting our animals? That’s a hat-trick to be sure.

Cheers, lads!

The Bonfire portion of our upcoming event will begin at 6:45 p.m. And with the weather looking good, we’re going to spend an amazing evening with you, our community!

We’ll have benches and chairs available, but families are welcome to bring their own seating. We’ll regale you with stories, songs, and a celebration of the year. Don't miss out!

Your Harvest Soundtrack is almost ready! We’re getting closer to our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead this Saturday, O...
10/06/2026

Your Harvest Soundtrack is almost ready! We’re getting closer to our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead this Saturday, October 10th ,and what’s a harvest without music?

Throughout the day, you’ll hear the sounds of the 18th century with Robert Mouland on the hurdy-gurdy, bringing this wonderfully strange and fascinating instrument to life. We’re grateful to the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center for sponsoring Robert’s performance!

And returning to CI, Forbes Road Frolic will fill the Homestead with the sounds of fiddle, lute, and other early American music, sponsored by Shady Spring Farm.

From the hearth to the dancing green, music will be part of the harvest all day long. Come experience the sights, sounds, foodways, and traditions of 1776!

Saturday, October 10th | Noon–8 PM
Conococheague Institute, 12995 Bain Road, Mercersburg, PA, 17236
Free admission!

We'll post videos of both performers in the comments so you can start your foot tapping in anticipation!

We were saddened today to learn of the passing of Tom Finucane, a longtime friend and supporter of the Conococheague Ins...
10/05/2026

We were saddened today to learn of the passing of Tom Finucane, a longtime friend and supporter of the Conococheague Institute.

Tom served as President of CI’s Board of Directors and, more recently, on our Advisory Board. But beyond those formal roles, he was simply a constant friend of this place, visiting often, making connections, sharing his experience, and offering thoughtful advice.

In recent years, Tom made a generous gift to help CI purchase a new lawn mower, in memory of his friend Jim Rogers. It was a fitting example of the way Tom was always thinking about people, community, and how he could help.

We will especially miss seeing Tom at this Saturday’s Annual Members Meeting, where he was always a strong and enthusiastic supporter of CI, with words of wit and wisdom. We always knew when Tom arrived, as he drove a beautiful blue sports car rarely seen on rural roads!

Our thoughts are with his family, and all those who knew and loved him. We are grateful for the many years of friendship, wisdom, and support Tom gave to the Conococheague Institute. He will be greatly missed.

Friends are encouraged to share stories of Tom at the Members Meeting at 2pm, and any written messages will be included in our next newsletter.

As we head into October 10th’s 1776: Harvest on the Homestead, we’re excited to spotlight one of the local businesses ...
10/05/2026

As we head into October 10th’s 1776: Harvest on the Homestead, we’re excited to spotlight one of the local businesses helping make events like this possible: Liberty Auto & Tire !

Liberty Auto & Tire recently stepped up with sponsorship support for both our Harvest event AND our upcoming Christmas event, while also renewing their Corporate Membership with the Conococheague Institute. That ongoing support helps us care for our animals, provide educational programs for thousands of students, maintain our historic site, and keep bringing history to life for our community.

And there's even more good news to celebrate! Our End of Year Campaign has now reached $17,000 in just one month!

We’re incredibly grateful to Liberty Auto & Tire and to everyone who has supported CI so far. Your generosity is helping make this fall, and everything we have planned for the months ahead possible.

Be sure to join us October 10 from noon–8 PM for 1776: Harvest on the Homestead, and come experience 18th century foodways, music, living history, animals, crafts, games, and more!

Thank you, Liberty Auto & Tire, for investing in our community and in the future of CI!

Resourceful frontier families don't waste things, but how do you turn a handful of hop vines into a basket? Kori spent y...
10/04/2026

Resourceful frontier families don't waste things, but how do you turn a handful of hop vines into a basket? Kori spent yesterday's public program, demonstrating how: soaking the vines in water to make them pliable, then bending, twisting, and weaving them together by hand. The moisture helps prevent the vines from snapping as they're shaped into sturdy, useful containers, and look how well hers have turned out!

Before plastic and mass produced goods, making the most of the materials around you was an essential everyday skill. These ingenious harvest crafts offer a glimpse into the resourcefulness of 18th century farm life. What do you think of the result? Could this be a future participation workshop? Let us know in the comments.

Come see more traditional skills and living history at our BIG 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event at Conococheague Institute!
Saturday, October 10th 12 PM – 8 PM

Less than a week to go! Bring the family and step back into the world of 1776. All this week we will post spotlights of the special presenters coming to the event!

One week left until our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event! To help prepare, as part of our Revolutionary Homestead pr...
10/03/2026

One week left until our 1776: Harvest on the Homestead event!

To help prepare, as part of our Revolutionary Homestead programming today, our team will be showing visitors how to decorate using harvest produce. We’ll be attempting to weave with our hop vines and bundling corn stalks. We have a lot of the latter, so if you’d like to collect some for your own harvest decorations, swing by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and grab some fresh lettuce, too!

No RSVP required! We’re located at 12995 Bain Road, Mercersburg, PA 17236.

Our free programs are made possible thanks to the Americana Corner Preserving America Partners program. The founder of Americana Corner, Tom Hand, will also be speaking at CI next Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a book signing!

We hope to see you today!

We've just posted Facebook events for both performances of The Rivals by Stony Batter Players by the Burgin Center for t...
10/02/2026

We've just posted Facebook events for both performances of The Rivals by Stony Batter Players by the Burgin Center for the Arts at Mercersburg Academy and you're invited to join us as guests of the Conococheague Institute!

We've had an incredible time consulting with director Matt Maurer and the Stony Batter Players on 18th century clothing, material culture, social customs, speech, and movement. The director and cast are doing a wonderful job bringing the period to life, and we hope the CI community will come along to enjoy the show, perhaps even dressed in 18th century clothing of your own!

Over the past month, we've explored everyday life and social hierarchies in Bath, discussed courtship, recreated poses and movements from period paintings, and even brought those paintings to life through the students' own performances. And that's just the beginning!

Sheridan's The Rivals is famous for its satire, romantic misunderstandings, and brilliant wordplay. One character, Mrs. Malaprop, was so memorable that her name gave us the word malapropism, confidently using the wrong word, often with hilarious results! She famously declares someone to be “the very pineapple of politeness” when she means pinnacle. But some are more subtle. When discussing someone's writing, which sounds right to you: “a nice derangement of epitaphs” or “a nice arrangement of epithets”?

Whether you're a history lover, theatre enthusiast, artist, or vocabulary fiend, this is a performance to enjoy!

Friday, October 23rd & Saturday, October 24th
7:30 p.m.
Mercersburg Academy

Find the two Facebook events, mark your calendar, and share them with friends. We look forward to seeing you there!

Beautiful weather yesterday for one of our biggest school partnerships!The entire 6th grade of Greencastle-Antrim Middle...
10/01/2026

Beautiful weather yesterday for one of our biggest school partnerships!

The entire 6th grade of Greencastle-Antrim Middle School (300 students) spent the day on the frontier learning about homestead life, traditional trades, games, cricket, and the environment.

For these GAMS students, this is the beginning of an in-depth history journey. Thanks to our education sponsorships from M&T Bank Charitable Trust and Patriot Federal Credit Union, they’ll be returning in 7th grade to build upon these first lessons, along with numerous in-class visits where they’ll learn about medicine, surgery, and the American Revolution.

By the time these students reach high school, they’ll be ready for paid internships!

More to come, but for now, a huge thank you to everyone who made yesterday possible: the students, with their incredible energy; the teachers, with their epic organizational skills; and our team and dedicated volunteers, who sparked so much enthusiasm in these young learners!

What a wonderful day of learning, discovery, and connection!

The week had barely begun before the Conococheague Institute had another flurry of presentations under its belt!We wrapp...
09/30/2026

The week had barely begun before the Conococheague Institute had another flurry of presentations under its belt!

We wrapped up our early American Studies lectures at Mercersburg Academy with an excellent discussion about what it meant to be an American at the nation’s founding. Then, we hit the road for Harrisburg to give a similar presentation to hundreds of distinguished guests at the Harrisburg Hilton!

We were honored to be invited to speak about the 250th anniversary for the PA Banking and Securities and the audience was just as engaged with the subject. A big thank-you to Secretary Wendy Spicher for the wonderful compliments and thoughtful gift!

Time for a break after all those presentations and alot of miles? Not at the Conococheague Institute!

Next up this week: 300 sixth graders for our first big on-site field trip! We can’t wait.

Address

12995 Bain Road
Mercersburg, PA
17236

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 7am - 9pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
Friday 7am - 5pm
Saturday 7am - 8pm
Sunday 7am - 8pm

Telephone

+17173282800

Website

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