n letters written home to his wife Katherine while serving in the Revolutionary War, General Edward Hand would address her as “My Dearest Kitty.” Later, as the mistress of Rock Ford, Kitty Hand hosted many elegant teas for family and friends.

During Rock Ford’s family friendly event “It’s Tea Time,” Kitty Hand will welcome guests to an afternoon of tea and sweets. Guests will also learn about historical fashion during a mini fashion show and talk and enjoy activities, games and a craft. Guests are encouraged to wear fancy accessories such as gloves, hats and jewelry.

This event will be held on the first floor of the Rock Ford barn. Cost is $12 per child and $15 per adult. The reservation deadline is April 24 unless the event sells out prior to that date.

This event is recommended for youth ages 5 and up and their family members. Children must be accompanied by at least one responsible adult.

For tickets, please click here.

Rock Ford will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event to seek tour guides for its upcoming tour season. The event will begin with an information session in the Rock Ford Barn, followed by a brief guided tour of the mansion. Interested persons should confirm their attendance prior to March 19 by calling the Rock Ford office at 717-392-7223 or emailing office@rockfordplantation.org. 

Volunteer tour guides translate the past into the present and make Rock Ford’s past real for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and training will be provided by the Curator. Printed materials are also provided so that all guides can become confident, successful and valuable members of this historic site. Rock Ford’s tour guides are offered other volunteer opportunities after they have become an established tour guide. A tour guide should have the ability to be on his or her feet for at least an hour and the ability to climb stairs.

In celebration of General Edward Hand’s Irish heritage, Rock ford will be hosting Irish Story Time in the Barn. This family-friendly event, designed for children of all ages, will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2020 beginning at 2:00 PM in the Rock Ford Barn. During this approximately one-hour long event, children and their families will enjoy an Irish-themed story time, games, a craft and a yummy treat.

Reservations are required and are limited to a maximum of 50 people. The cost is $5 per person.

Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult during the event.

For tickets, please click here.

Step back to a time when Christmas Day was only the beginning of the season! Learn about 18th-century Yuletide traditions and customs. Bring your friends, family, and guests to celebrate the season during this popular annual event!

Yuletide Tours are conducted like an “Open House.” Visitors may arrive anytime between opening and 45 minutes prior to closing and tour the mansion at their own pace.

$10 adults, $8 seniors (65+) and youth 6-17, and free for children 5 and under.

Step back to a time when Christmas Day was only the beginning of the season! Learn about 18th-century Yuletide traditions and customs. Bring your friends, family, and guests to celebrate the season during this popular annual event!

Yuletide Tours are conducted like an “Open House.” Visitors may arrive anytime between opening and 45 minutes prior to closing and tour the mansion at their own pace.

$10 adults, $8 seniors (65+) and youth 6-17, and free for children 5 and under.

Stephen Bradney of the 1st Regiment Flying Camp of Lancaster – Captain Joseph Work’s will be on the Rock Ford grounds conducting periodic firing demonstrations and living history. Mortar firing demonstrations will be conducted periodically throughout the day and will be held in the meadow. This activity is weather-permitting and open to the public.

Rock Ford volunteers will “plant a maypole” to honor our friend and neighbor, Dr. Edward Hand.  Join the fun!  A bagpiper will lead our procession to where we raise the maypole and Rock Ford’s dancers will lead our visitors in traditional maypole dances.  Bring a picnic lunch and spend the day!

The maypole procession and dancing will commence at 10:30, 12:00 and 1:30.

Practiced for generations in countries such as Germany and England, the maypole dance is a spring ritual long known to Western Europeans. Dancing was done around a pole or slender tree garnished with flowers and ribbons.  The maypole was introduced to Edward Hand’s native Ireland by English and Scottish settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  In the early 1800’s, an Irish woman gave an account of maypole celebrations which were held “when a number of persons are desirous, for any particular reason, to honour some of their superiors; as for instance, the tenants of an estate for any act of favour shown them by the landlord, or the like…by planting a maypole before his door.”  The dances performed were “really a very pretty sight.”

As a civic leader, Ireland native Dr. Edward Hand was known to be compassionate and sensitive to the needs of Lancaster’s poor, and he treated many patients without charge.  He was among the community leaders calling for “an act to provide for the erection of houses for the employment and support of the Poor in Counties of Chester and Lancaster.”   The act required the election of six reputable citizens to serve as directors, and Hand was among those elected. The resulting Lancaster Almshouse and Hospital was built of stone and still stands.

Image: A painting circa 1750 in Elmbridge Museum, Weybridge, May Pole Dancing

In letters written home to his wife Katherine while serving in the Revolutionary War, General Edward Hand would address her as “My Dearest Kitty.” Later, as the mistress of Rock Ford Plantation, “Kitty Hand” hosted many elegant teas for family and friends. During Rock Ford’s children’s event “It’s Tea Time” on Sunday, April 7 from 2 pm to 4 pm, Kitty Hand welcomes guests to an afternoon tea at Rock Ford, featuring delightful desserts, tea tasting and etiquette fun such as the Language of the Fan. Guests are encouraged to wear fancy accessories such as gloves, hats and jewelry. After the tea, guests will be led on a short tour of the Rock Ford mansion to “find the hidden tea cups” in the mansion’s rooms.

This event will be held rain or shine in the Rock Ford barn and mansion. In the event of rain, guests are asked to bring umbrellas as they will be walking from the barn to the mansion.

Reservations may be made by clicking here. Cost is $10 per child and $12 per adult. The reservation deadline is Friday, April 5. This event is recommended for children ages 5 and up and their family members. Children must be accompanied by at least one responsible adult.

Are you interested in learning how Edward Hand built Rock Ford, his gorgeous Georgian home, in 1792? Do you want to know how masonry, surveying, building and history inspire a day of fun? Then spend the day with us at Rock Ford on Saturday, April 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for The House That Hand Built. Wes Swanson, mason, teacher and historian, will share his knowledge of history, building and even give you an opportunity to “throw and strike” a brick! The program is geared toward middle and high schoolers who will also experience surveying, estimating and studying the Georgian style of architecture. Students will apply and practice their mathematics and critical thinking skills to solve problems related to rise-and-run, porch-fall and occasional errors that 18^th century builders could have made.

Rock Ford is the preserved 18th century home of Edward Hand, a doctor who also served as Adjutant General to George Washington in the American Revolution. The House That Hand Built is a collaboration of the Junior League of Lancaster (JLL) and Rock Ford Plantation whose partnership began in 1957 when the JLL purchased the house and one year later established the Rock Ford Foundation to restore and maintain the property that looks much the same as it did when Hand built it.

The cost to attend the program is $10 and will be limited to 35 students. Payment may be made through www.rockford.yapsody.com then please email dnsmith875@gmail.com and request a registration form. Deadline for enrollment is March 28, 2019.

Attendees should report to the Rock Ford barn and bring their own lunches and beverages. This program will be held rain or shine so please dress for the weather. Scholarships will be offered to students in need. If an adult chooses to remain with his or her child for the program, we ask for a pay-as-you-will donation in addition to the student admission fee.

This month’s Stories in the Barn will have a St. Patrick’s theme. The program will be held in the historic bank barn on the grounds of Rock Ford Plantation. Following the story, children will participate in a fun activity. Stories will relate to Early America.

Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

This is a pay-what-you-will event.

Additional Stories in the Barn are planned for November 3, 2019 and December 7, 2019.

Reservations are not required for this event.

In the event of inclement weather, please visit our website or call our office at 717-392-7223.