It is the autumn of 1773 and Lewes is still a part of King George III’s dominion, but tensions are growing that test the sinews of empire. Even as Lewistowners in this seaport community prepare for the coming winter and concern themselves with the mundane happenings of life on the imperial fringes – the improvements on the lighthouse at Cape Henlopen, the launching of a new schooner named LIBERTY, controversy surrounding the recent General Assembly election – greater discontent is simmering. As a part of the ongoing crisis of taxation and representation, the Parliament in London passes the Tea Act, creating a monopoly on one of the colonists’ most beloved imports.

Seeing this as yet another strike against American rights, Delawareans respond by renewing boycotts, initiating fierce debate in the streets and taverns, forming new associations, raising up the liberty pole, and proclaiming themselves as true Sons and Daughters of Liberty.

Guests visiting the Lewes Historical Society’s Historic Shipcarpenter Street Campus will step back into the final, fraught months of 1773 to engage with history first-hand. Throughout the weekend, they will have the opportunity to meet the inhabitants of colonial Lewistown as they demonstrate historical activities and grapple with the mixed harvest of familiar crops and revolutionary ideals to sustain them through the long winter ahead.