Audio clip
Jeff Wells
VONORE, Tenn. — Long before there was a state of Tennessee, there was a Christmas celebration between what would later be Chattanooga and Knoxville.
On Dec. 5, the colonial re-enactors at Fort Loudoun State Historic Area will recreate one of those long-ago holidays.
“We will have caroling, dancing, wassail tasting and a church service that is typical to what would have been provided for these soldiers in the 1750s,” said Park Manager Jeff Wells. “As a matter of fact, we have a journal of one of the missionaries who came through here and he writes very clearly that he preached the Christmas story here on Christmas Day.”
Fort Loudoun in Monroe County memorializes colonial soldiers who were stationed at the riverside outpost, holding the Southeast for the British during the French and Indian War. The volunteers and staff at the park dress and portray historic characters who lived in the area.
On garrison weekends, visitors can watch children playing 18th century games and mingle with the living historians as they bake bread, trade, launder, blacksmith and cook.
IF YOU GO
What: Christmas at Fort Loudoun
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 5
Admission: Free
Directions: I-75 north to exit 72, right on U.S. Highway 72 for about 20 miles (go through city of Loudoun). Left on U.S. 411 at Vonore, then right at Highway 360 south at the Fort Loudoun sign.
Information: 423-884-6217 or www.fortloudoun.c...>
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Christmas at Fort Loudoun schedule
2:30 p.m.: Christmas church service
3:30 p.m. Christmas carols and wassail tasting
6 p.m. Candlelight tour of the fort
The last garrison weekend of the year was held recently. While soldiers drilled on the fields, two young girls dressed in period clothes stood outside the store playing a game they called “grace.” Holding a stick, somewhat resembling a chopstick, in each hand, they pulled the sticks apart to launch a lightweight ring hanging on them. The other person’s challenge was to catch the ring with another pair of sticks and send it back.
Across the Fort Loudoun green, the fort baker, otherwise known as Circuit Court Judge Carroll Ross, and his helper kept a close watch on scones inside a mud oven.
“Baking really hasn’t changed in 2,000 years; whether it’s a mud oven or a modern oven,” he said.
The trick, he said, is to know the oven and the time it takes.
Now, the volunteers are preparing for Christmas.
Women played a big part in fort life, re-enactor Angie King said.
“Of course, it was not a glamorous life, by no means,” she said. “It was very, very tough, even during the good times. You had to be a tough woman.”
Randall Higgins covers news in Cleveland, Tenn., for the Times Free Press. He started work with the Chattanooga Times in 1977 and joined the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press when the Free Press and Times merged in 1999. Randall has covered Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Alabama. He now covers Cleveland and Bradley County and the neighboring region. Randall is a Cleveland native. He has bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University. His awards ...
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