Ames Plantation’s Heritage Festival to portray 19th century life in the South
By Ginger Rowsey, gtrice@tennessee.edu

The festival will feature 19th century arts and crafts along with special events.

If you’re looking for a family outing that’s unique, educational and also fun, mark your calendars for Saturday, October 11. That’s the day of the 17th annual Heritage Festival, held on the grounds of the Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tennessee. Folk artists, re-enactors and musicians will recreate the past.

This all-day event takes visitors back to a time of horse-drawn plows, spinning wheels, and old-fashioned bluegrass pickers playing on the porch. With more than 150 friendly folk artists demonstrating traditional farming and home life skills, plus a long lineup of award-winning gospel and bluegrass bands, visitors can truly get a glimpse of 19th century life in the South.

Visitors can also shop for unique handmade crafts, listen to old-time gospel and bluegrass music, and tour a reproduction of a Civil War camp. Children will love to inspect antique tractors, pick their own cotton, and stretch their imaginations with a 19th century arts and crafts activity.

New to the festival will be the addition of a miniature replica of The Alamo, the site for a pivotal battle in the quest for Texas independence. Historians will regale visitors with tales of Tennessee’s involvement with this significant landmark.

You can also check out the nationally renowned Stencil House. Built in the 1830s, its name stems from the elaborate stencil designs covering the home’s walls, a popular decoration for 19th century families. The stenciling represents one of the most impressive surviving examples of this form of folk art in the region today, and it is believed to be one of the oldest surviving displays of stenciling in the South.

Whether you’re sitting in a one-room schoolhouse while an animated speaker spins tall tales or you are tapping your toe to an up-tempo bluegrass tune, at the Heritage Festival you can unwind and enjoy good family fun. Plus, it’s all just an hour’s drive from Memphis, Jackson or Corinth.

The Heritage Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children ages 4–16, and free for ages 3 and under. Parking is free. Enter Ames Plantation at Buford Ellington Road off Tennessee Highway 18. No pets, please.

Ames Plantation is privately owned and operated by Successor Trustees of the Hobart Ames Foundation through the Will of the late Julia Colony Ames. The Ames Plantation’s 18,400 acres of land are made available to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture as one of 10 AgResearch and Education Centers located across the state. In addition to its agricultural research programs, the UT Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.

Published September 14, 2014