WASHINGTON | For nearly 40 years, Old Washington historic village has been the home for the annual Simon Kenton Festival. Each year re-enactors, artisans, crafters, and entertainers come together to honor Simon Kenton, who through historical accounts has been named the “Father of Mason County.”
This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21; festival hours are Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday.
Washington was incorporated in 1786 by the Virginia Legislature and named for George Washington. The town was recorded in the first Census in 1790 as having 462 inhabitants; it had the first post office and first public waterworks system west of the Allegheny Mountains, and Simon Kenton planted the first corn in Mason County.
Frontiersman Simon Kenton and Thomas Williams came to Washington in 1775. Kenton had searched the area for the rich cane lands on four previous trips into the Kentucky wilderness. Ten years later, he returned to the area, established his station and began recruiting families and individuals to the area.
Kenton operated a general store in the village before he left the area for Ohio. Today, one of Washington’s authentic log cabins houses the Simon Kenton Shrine. The cabin was built around 1790 and was constructed as a general store operated by Lee, Lashbrooke and Company General Store. The cabin was named to honor Kenton, the cabin houses farm implements, tools, household goods and other items available at a frontier store. There is also a salt trough made from a Kentucky Cottonwood tree.
During his life, Kenton served as a scout in the 1774 during Lord Dunmore’s War, he served in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He and Daniel Boone attacked a Shawnee Indian settlement in Chillicothe, Ohio, and he saved Boone’s life during one encounter with Indians around Boonesborough. He left Kentucky in 1798 and eventually settled in Urbana, Ohio. When he died in 1836, he lived in Zanesfield, Ohio. Kenton was born in 1755 in Fauquier, Va.
Visitors to the Simon Kenton Festival will have a hard time deciding what to do first. A wagon ride through the festival is the perfect way to get a quick overview of the wide variety of attractions and entertainment offered.
This two-day historical adventure will begin as the Kenton Kin, descendants of Simon Kenton, march into the center of Old Washington where they are formally welcomed at the opening ceremonies. After the American flag is raised, and the last echo of the 21-gun salute has finished, visitors are enticed to explore the unique shops, and over 180 different booths that line Old Main Street. Whether its antiques, fine art, crafts or food you’re sure to find it at this event.
Want more? Entertainment can be found throughout the festival. Appalachian music by Jennifer Rose Escobar, along with Royal Blue Entertainment, Soaring Raven and Sarah Wood and Thomas Albert, and the AA Cloggers will fill the streets with song, flute music, and Bluegrass music.
At various times during the day, Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, and the Chief of the Shawnee Tribe will meet at the Old Church Museum, located in the middle of the festival, to tell about the life and times of our beloved pioneer heroes. Professional actors will portray each of the visiting frontier heroes. Simon Kenton will be portrayed by Mel Hankla, and Daniel Boone will be portrayed by Mark Sage. Both men have been recognized across the country for the accuracy of their performance. More re-enactors and demonstrations will also be set up in the Pioneer encampment behind the Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum.
Take your children to the encampment behind the Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum and witness first hand pioneer life in a primitive encampment. Meet Gerry Barker of Frontier Resources, and his massive oxen. Gerry will demonstrate how a wagon was driven two hundred years ago, and you could be the volunteer chosen to assist him.
Washington is located in Maysville, 60 miles east of Cincinnati, Ohio and 60 miles northeast of Lexington.
For more information, please contact Suzie Pratt, 606-563-2596 or visit www.cityofmaysville.com for a full schedule of events.
Simon Kenton
Medicine Hawk (aka Gary Hunt of Fort Wayne, Ind.) will return for the 2014 Simon Kenton Festival.
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