AUGUSTA — Families will experience how settlers in the 18th century harvested sap during the spring thaw on Sundayat Old Fort Western.

The 1754 National Historic Landmark on the Kennebec River will host its 19th annual Maple Syrup Day from 1 to 3 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are accepted and the proceeds from the fort’s store will benefit the Old Fort Western Fund.

Maple Syrup Day at the fort is part of Maine Maple Sunday, an event sponsored by the Maine Department of Agriculture and the Maine Maple Producers Association.

Linda Novak, the fort’s director and curator, said volunteers dressed in period costumes will whittle spiles, tap trees and collect and boil sap over an open fire.

She said last year about 150 people attended the event.

“We’re going to put a tap on a big maple tree next to the fort and have some actual sap boiling over a big bonfire,” Novak said. “In the north parlor we’ll have a demonstration of how to turn maple syrup into maple sugar and in the kitchen they’ll be making Johnny cakes with maple syrup on top.”

She said maple products will be sold in the fort’s store, including Sweet Ariana’s Maple Syrup, and refreshments will be served.

The James Howard Company, a group of French and Indian War re-enactors, will demonstrate the life of a soldier by drilling, marching and performing equipment checks, she said.

Jeff Miller, the proprietor of the Flintlock Forge and accomplished blacksmith, will give a talk, “Blacksmithing at the Howard Store,” at 2 p.m. at Augusta City Center. The talk is part of the fort’s 2012 Winter Lecture Series.

After Miller’s talk, he will demonstrate blacksmithing at the fort’s forge.

Novak said a store operated at the site from 1767 to 1807 and the organization has the account books. “So we know exactly what they were selling and what they were bartering with,” she said. “One of the things they bartered was blacksmithing services.”

The nonprofit organization is dedicated to teaching, preserving and discovering local history in the Kennebec River Valley, she said.

“This is our first event of the season down at the fort,” Novak said. “Memorial Day is the big opening weekend, but we’ll open for school programming the end of April.”

For more information about the winter lecture series, call 626-2385 or email [email protected].

Mechele Cooper — 621-5663

[email protected]