Area residents can step back into history during the 57th Annual Sassafras Tea Festival and Civil War Living History event on April 27-28 in Vernon.
Sponsored by the Jennings County Historical Society, the event is designed to give visitors the chance to experience the tastes, sights and sounds of Hoosier life during the 19th century.
“This event is the society’s biggest history program of the year, and has become nationally known for the quality of the Civil War history, sassafras tea and homemade pies,” Jennings County Historical Society President Chris Asher said.
The festival was first named in honor of the sassafras root that was a staple of Hoosier households during the 1800s. Since 1962, the festival has been expanded to include additional historical experiences.
Sassafras tea is made from roots of the sassafras tree. Sassafras tea was once used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans and pioneers alike. Sassafras tea was thought to be an energy boost and good for the blood.
During the festival, sassafras tea is brewed outside in a large brass kettle. Volunteers have worked for weeks to provide enough locally grown sassafras roots to make the thousands of free cups of sassafras tea that will be given to visitors of the festival.
“The roots are ready to go. They have been dug, cleaned, split and dried,” historical society volunteer Helen Amburgey said.
While visitors sip the free tea and munch free cookies, they will also be invited to roam through the historically correct Civil War encampment constructed around the Jennings County Courthouse lawn. Admission into the encampment area is also free.
The encampment will be made up of large tents surrounding real camp fires. Throughout the encampment, re-enactors in period dress will demonstrate cooking over open fires while they tell stories of the past. Textile weavers, wood carvers and other craftsmen will demonstrate their arts up and down the rows of tents.
Just down the street from the encampment area, members of the Indiana Blacksmith Association will pound iron into beautiful designs and objects in the working blacksmith shop.
Actors in the roles of both North and South Civil war soldiers will roam the streets of Vernon amidst the crowds of visitors. Actresses and re-enactors dressed in the Civil War-era hooped skirts and period costumes will also be present within the crowds of visitors. The actors and actresses will perform street skits and answer historical questions from visitors.
At announced times, soldier re-enactors will perform mock battles and skirmishes at the Jennings County Muscatatuck Park on both days. Admittance to the park will be free, but there will be a $5 per car fee for parking.
At the Jennings County Historical Society Museum in Vernon, there will be a number of actors portraying historical figures such as Gen. Ulysses Grant.
Though the festival is a fundraiser and all profits will be used to operate the Jennings County Historical Society Museum year round, the only fees collected during the festival will be charges for food and merchandise.
Every year visitors and locals both pour into the museum’s dining area to purchase homemade chicken-and-noodles, ham and beans, soups, sandwiches and desserts.
More than 680 pies were sold during last year’s festival, Asher said.
“We sold every last pie last year and we have made over 700 pies this year. Our trained bakers work year round to make their pies and we have become famous for our homemade pies,” Asher said.
The pies, other desserts and other foods can be purchased for carry-out.
On the evening of the 27th, there will be a a Blue Gray Ball in the Vernon Gymnasium. The ball will be complete with fiddle music and the sounds of real artillery fire. Everyone is invited to the ball.
For additional questions about the festival, call Amburgey at 812-346-8989.
