Come rain or shine, annual Fort Halifax Days celebration aims to keep Winslow history alive

WINSLOW — Historic reenactors and enthusiasts braved heavy rain to bring the past into the present Saturday for the ninth annual Fort Halifax Days celebration.

Dozens showed up this weekend to honor the National Historic Landmark in Winslow. The fort is a former British colonial outpost, built on the banks of the Sebasticook and Kennebec rivers in 1754 during the French and Indian War.

All that remains of the 140-foot-long fort now is a single blockhouse, but the structure has become a significant part of the town’s identity in recent years. In 2015, nearly $200,000 was invested around the historic site to add parking, walking trails, interpretive plaques and an outline of the original fort created with granite blocks and wooden posts. In 2021, the fort’s roof was replaced.

At this year’s event, historic builders were constructing two wooden palisades to stand where they would have in the 1700s, and invited eventgoers to help in their assembly. Other activities Saturday included historical reenactments, weaponry demonstrations, an array of local vendors, live music and even a petting zoo free to all attendants.

The aim of this ongoing investment and annual celebration, organizers said is to keep the town’s history alive.

“Every generation has a responsibility to preserve history here in the town of Winslow,” Town Council member Ray Caron said Saturday.

One reenactor dressed as an English colonist, Roger Collins, said that though he grew up in Winslow, no one seemed to be aware of the formidable history in their backyard until recently.

“Not many people used to take the time to look at the history and learn about it,” he said. “It’s a big part of why Winslow is here.”

Collins and his colleague Andrew Askins work at the Old Fort Western museum in Augusta and come out every year to teach community members about life in a colonial fort. On Saturday, the pair said they would be doing a cannon demonstration, and if the rain let up, would corral the kids at the event to teach them how to hold wooden muskets properly and perform marching drills.

Other reenactors from The Ancient Ones of Maine were on hand to demonstrate old weaponry, and Native American historian Ken Hamilton, along with his son, spoke to eventgoers about the site’s significance to Native American groups.

The event this year also included a rededication ceremony of a plaque commemorating the site by local chapter members of The Daughters of the American Revolution.

Councilman Caron thanked the D.A.R. chapter, and everyone in town who has invested so much in this park and its annual celebration over the years, for keeping “the spirit of Fort Halifax alive.”