Rocky Mount holds America 250 kick-off celebration

PINEY FLATS -- Celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States were well underway Saturday at Rocky Mount State Historic Site in Piney Flats. "Today is our big America 250 kick-off celebration starting with a free family day," said Jami West, executive assistant at the site. "Yesterday we had media day with Sullivan County, and we had a reading of the Declaration of Independence." West noted that because the media day happened during school hours, the site held a free day on Saturday to invite all the communities in the area to come and celebrate. "Essentially, we've been working with the county and other historical sites in the area to try and make America's 250th anniversary as big as we possibly can and celebrate it locally," West said. All around the historic site, people were enjoying the free day trying their hand at colonial crafts and games. Candle making proved popular, as re-enactor Worley Bennett led people through the process. It became so popular, in fact, that children and adults taking part formed a circle so that one person could dip their wick in the melted paraffin, and then walk on so the next person could do the same. By the time they had gone around the circle, the wax had hardened on the wick, and they were ready to be dipped again. Colonial games also proved popular, as children tested their skill with challenges such as cup and ball, graces and hoop rolling. One of the more interesting stops during family day was with Lisa Bennett, portraying Martha Cobb, sitting in the kitchen making stew and telling stories of what things were like back in the day at Rocky Mount. "Things are a little different from what your life is," she said to a group gathered there. "A young girl, a woman can have no money, she can own nothing, she can go no place by herself. They were the property of their father until they were married and the property of their husband after. And she didn't even get to pick him out." Bennett went on to explain how fathers would arrange marriages for daughters as young as 13. One of the reasons for marriages at such a young age, she noted, was that women rarely lived past 30 in the 1700s, with many dying during childbirth. The celebration is just getting started at Rocky Mount and there is much more to come, according to West. "Next weekend, Rocky Mount will be having Woolly Days," she said, "where we celebrate our sheep, which are a colonial breed of Cotswold sheep. We bring out the baby lambs; they (the mothers) leave to go have their babies and then come back. That is basically where we get a lot of our fun historical meets nature things." West also noted there would be a flag day celebration June 13-14. "The thirteenth is going to be a big celebration open site similar to today," she said. "The following day will be flag day; it will be celebrating all the flags we've had throughout the history of America, including Betsy Ross's flag, which will be honored by the flag dedication. "Also, we will be having a Betsy Ross sip 'n sew," she continued. "It's going to be people coming in and having tea and hors d'oeuvres with Betsy Ross at the moment she was approached by George Washington to create the iconic circle star flag." All these events are building up to Colonial Independence Day on July 4, "which will be the big 250th anniversary of our nation, and that's just going to be a big blowout that we are hoping to bring in as much of the community as possible," West said. She added that Rocky Mount has been working a lot with Sullivan County, the Historical Commission of Tennessee and many of the other local historic sites towards this goal. In addition to all the events, the site is having a lecture series. Thomas Batchlor from David Crockett Historic Site will be on May 28; he will be speaking on the Battle of Kings Mountain and how that battle essentially led to the creation of America as we know it.