Join us for a day with engaging speakers presenting topics sure to interest those involved in open-hearth cooking, historic sites or 18th-century daily life!

Learn about the foods people actually ate, how they obtained and prepared it. Gain a better understanding of the domesticated animals typically found on farms. Explore the varied history of large animal butchering and general meat preservation. All information is based on archaeolgical evidence and documentary research.

"Turtles, Catfish, & Other Great Philadelphia Foods: The Archaeology of Philadelphia's Culinary Past, 1750-1850" - Teagan Schweitzer, Ph.D. candidate - University of Pennsylvania

"Domestic Animals in Colonial North America" - Barbara Corson, VMD

"18th & 19th Century Hog & Beef Butchering and Meat Preservation before Refrigeration" (a double session) - Dave Miller, Historian and Butcher

New this year: After the formal presentations and tour of the site, join everyone for a potluck dinner featuring sausage made using an 18th century recipe, a hearty soup, and other items brought by you and your fellow attendees. If you can bring a period dish to share, we'd love you to share the recipe as well. We hope you will join us, even if you are not able to travel with food... do not worry! There will be plenty for all!

Workshop: Past Masters in Early American Domestic Arts offers an open-hearth cooking workshop using the reconstructed hearths of Pennsbury Manor as your classroom. Workshops are presented the Friday before and the Sunday after the Symposium from 9:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. Workshop menus and important information about the workshops are available below, and are presented at the Past Masters website. Class sizes are limited to 24 persons, so register early to get your spot.

Consider giving the gift of knowledge with a Gift Certificate!

Symposium registration closes February 19. Workshop registration will close when all openings are taken.