Historic Summerseat in Morrisville turned back the clock to 1776 this May, as the National Historic Landmark was filled with colonial reenactors and authentic 18th-century activities commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The two-day Living History Festival took place inside the historic home and grounds and captured the resilience and day-to-day challenges faced by colonial leaders and local patriots during the Revolutionary War period.
After George and Martha Washington arrived to officially kick off the event on the first day, a ceremony followed (sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution Washington Crossing Chapter) and included a magnolia tree planting.
The Living History Festival offered free educational activities with hands-on participation and house tours for many visitors. Local reenactors demonstrated colonial encampments of Revolutionary War soldiers camping out with tents and supplies. The colonial militia showed how they drilled, shot muskets and canons and played music complete with a fife and drum corps for troop morale and communication.
Some of the colonial reenactors are local residents. Marcia Ann Kasper of Morrisville participated in the event as a fifer with the Continental Army and she volunteers at Summerseat, too.
“I’m proud to be participating in this event and to help promote American history and the quest for independence,” Kasper said.
Other activities included wool spinning wheel demonstrations, reenactors wearing period clothing and educational activities on colonial coins and notes. Visitors learned how herbs were used for medicinal purposes and participated in a garden tour of native American plants and watched how colonial ice cream was made. The event also offered local vendors selling crafts and a complimentary food truck.
“This is the first big living history festival and colonial encampment we’ve had with many activities for two days. Every other year, we had one-day events on a much smaller scale. But for the 250th anniversary, we offered a lot more activities, speakers and reenactors,” noted Christopher Zawodniak, who served as coordinator of the event with his wife, Margaret, and other volunteers.
The Zawodniaks also serve on the board of the Historic Morrisville Society, a nonprofit organization of volunteers that maintains and gives tours at Summerseat.
Historic Summerseat received two grants in conjunction with the Historic Morrisville Society for the America250 events. One grant is from the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program and another from Bucks250PA to fund the Living History Festival and other educational programs and community outreach throughout 2026 for the semiquincentennial anniversary of the United States.
Summerseat is known for its critical role in the Revolutionary War. The magnificent original home, built in 1765, served as General George Washington’s Headquarters from Dec. 8 to 14, 1776. The home was also owned by Robert Morris and George Clymer, two signers of both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution.
Karen Kane, president of the Morrisville Historical Society, gave house tours throughout the festival.
“Our mission is to build awareness about Summerseat, especially the children. We get school groups and try to educate them on their own level, so they can understand about the history of this place and how important it is. We have so many interesting things here. We have a repository in Morrisville. It’s not just that George Washington stayed here,” said Kane, a Morrisville resident who has served in various roles at the society for 18 years.
During the festival’s house tours, Kane pointed out several unusual artifacts and period pieces that local residents or organizations donated to Summerseat to give them a permanent home for preservation and for safekeeping, spanning from the 18th through the 20th centuries.
For example, Kane pointed out how Summerseat is home to an Austrian high-end Stella music box from 1897 that still plays music perfectly; a black Victorian wedding gown from the 1840s; military rifles and weapons from World Wars I and II as well as the Civil War; a huge antique wall map of the Philadelphia and Trenton regions; a 19th century grandfather clock donated by Wells Fargo; and an original painting by a local Bucks County artist of Gray Stones, a huge granite boulder where William Penn made the first land purchase from Native Americans in 1682 that ultimately became Bucks County.
One of the more interesting and unusual objects residing in Summerseat is the 1955 Little League World Series Championship trophy, which the Morrisville Little League team won that year.
“Everything is for safekeeping and preservation,” Kane said. “A lot of local people donate items here as they relate to Morrisville in some respect or the descendants of them. This is my home away from home, too. It’s an incredible place. You can just feel it. When you walk in, don’t you just feel the history?"
To learn more about Historic Summerseat or events planned throughout 2026, visit historicsummerseat.com or summerseat250.com.
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