GRANITE QUARRY — As dozens of people roamed through a scene out of Revolutionary America, Mitzi Coughenhour watched her daughter, Lauren, try her hand at wool spinning.
Standing in a semi-circle in the shadow of Old Stone House in Granite Quarry on Saturday, Rowan County’s oldest historical site, colonial-clad Stephanie Muff showed Coughenhour the ropes.
“We come out just about every year and we just like the history of the place,” Coughenhour said. “It helps to teach the children how people lived.”
The Rowan Museum re-opened Michael Braun’s 1766 Old Stone House on Saturday for its fourth annual Spring Frolic.
For Coughenhour, the visit was as much about Rowan County’s history as her own.
“We used to come here when I was a little girl too,” she said, “so it’s nice to share that with my daughter.”
Kaye Hirst, a descendent of Braun and the director of the Rowan Museum, called the turnout “very good” as history buffs and wide-eyed children toured the two-story home and surrounding festivities.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” Hirst said.
When volunteers decided to create the spring event, Hirst said, she drummed up the idea of a “frolic.”
“We talked about it and laughed about it and, hey, it caught,” she said.
The one-day festival seemed every bit frolic-like as dancing couples dressed in period clothes tried to woo spectators into the delight.
Maggie Barnhardt, of Salisbury, said Saturday’s event was her first.
“The house is a lot bigger than I thought,” she said.
Barnhardt said she and her daughter Elizabeth enjoyed several of the period activities, including egg dying and tasting soups cooked by open fire.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.