BIRDSBORO PA – The arrival of fall in Birdsboro will be celebrated Oct. 19 (2025, Sunday) with the annual return of Heritage Day at Daniel Boone Homestead, the 1734 birthplace of the famous frontiersman.
This year, though, the autumnal party extends even further. The non-profit Daniel Boone Homestead Associates will partner with the Exeter Friends Meetinghouse – located about 2.3 miles north of the Boone site – to also commemorate the meetinghouse’s 300th anniversary.
- The celebration at Boone, 400 Daniel Boone Rd. in Birdsboro, runs from noon to 4 p.m. As it has in past years, admission fees ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $5 youths) will be charged at the homestead. No pets (except service animals) and no smoking are allowed. For more information call 610-582-4900; and
- At the meetinghouse, 191 Meetinghouse Rd. in Douglassville, its event starts at 9 a.m. and continues into the afternoon. Its activities are free to attend, and “all are welcome,” it says. For more information, send an e-mail to exeterfriendsmeeting@gmail.com.
Scheduled at Boone Homestead
Heritage Day features a variety of colonial and early American demonstrations, trades, and hands-on activities. It also features craft and specialty food vendors, as well as fall activities for children like pumpkin painting. Adults and kids alike also can participate in 18th Century-style candle dipping, quill pen writing, and colonial toys and games.
Throughout the historic area, visitors can learn about the work of a leatherworker, a gunsmith, a blacksmith, a fur trader, and a trapper. A presentation at the apothecary features a display of period medical instruments, and explanations about the roles of a doctor and surgeon. Volunteers will demonstrate basket-making and textile arts, including wool dyeing and spinning.
In the Boone House, volunteers will cook a hearty meal over the hearth, while colonial musician Bob Mouland performs in its English parlor. Visitors can tour the house and its spring cellar, and learn about the three families who lived there.
Scheduled at Exeter Meetinghouse
The Exeter Friends Meeting was originally established in 1725 as Oley Meeting, and changed its name to Exeter in 1742. It is where the Quaker Boone family would have attended monthly meeting. The original log structure frequented by the Boones was replaced by the current stone structure in 1759.
Meetinghouse visitors can anticipate “a full day of history, fellowship, and community,” members say. It starts at 9 a.m. with a choice of coffee or tea and light refreshments. Worship for all who are interested in participating begins at 10:30 a.m.
Then, during the day, the Friends will provide cooking demonstrations, quilt code displays and historical exhibits, and music, art and presentations on Quaker history, faith, and traditions. Guided tours are available of the historic meetinghouse and burial ground. Light refreshments and hot cider will be provided. A Quaker wedding re-enactment is set for 2 p.m.
The day will end with a performance of “Singing from the Sacred Harp” from 5:30-8 p.m.
It relies on music “transposed and collected during the time when small community churches expanded westward,” the Meetinghouse explains. “Sacred harp music and singing enabled congregations to sing four-part harmonies without extensive music theory or accompaniment,” it adds.
Photos of Daniel Boone Homestead activities provided to Travels With The Post by its Associates
Photo of the Exeter Meetinghouse from the Exeter Quakers’ Facebook page
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