JERSEY COUNTY - The 33rd annual Apple Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jersey County Historical Society, located at 601 N. State St. in Jerseyville.
Nearly 40 vendors will be located throughout the grounds, selling pottery, jewelry, fall crafts, honey, and other goods.
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There is no charge to enter the grounds.
Live entertainment will be offered throughout the day. Jersey Community High School students will perform from 9:30 to 11:30, the Gibson Girls from 12:00 to 1:00, Cash Goetten from 1:00 to 3:00, and the Jon Hetzel family from 3:00 to 5:00.
From 10:00 to 4:00, children can complete pioneer chores, such as milking a cow, gathering eggs, doing laundry on a scrub board, and shelling and grinding corn. Children will earn a wooden coin for each chore completed, which can then be used to buy candy in an old-fashioned Mercantile. Children can also complete pioneer crafts and try their hand at some pioneer toys. The cost is $5 per child.
Visitors to the log cabin area can also watch artists spin wool, weave rugs, quilt, and make lye soap.
A variety of food – including fish, chicken strips, fries, stew, ham and beans with cornbread, hot dogs, and lots of homemade pies and desserts – will be available for purchase.
Jerseyville’s oldest home, the Cheney House (which pre-dates both Jerseyville and Jersey County and was a stop on the Underground Railroad) will be open for tours, as will the one-room Lone Star School (built in 1877), one-room Union Forest Church (built in 1920), the logs cabins, and the museum.
The 10-room museum houses a large collection of local artifacts and historical photos. The transportation room houses two sleighs, a buggy, a 1916 Model T Ford and a 1909 Sears Motor Buggy. The Les Flautt addition houses the Flautt family collection, which includes an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, radios, clocks, and a mastodon tooth and bone found near Otter Creek in Jersey County.
The military room focuses on the role Jersey County residents played in wars dating back to the Civil War. The room is full of photos, uniforms, weapons, souvenirs, and stories of local soldiers, sailors and airmen, including Jerseyville’s Tuskegee Airmen, George and Arnold Cisco.
The wedding room is full of wedding mementos and wedding dresses from each decade dating back to the 1870s and includes several wedding dresses from the 1800s.
The school room includes photos, school supplies, and memorabilia, including the telescope used by astronomy students in Jerseyville’s original high school.
The museum also houses a government room, laundry room, kitchen from the 1940s, kid’s room, and a loom room.
All buildings can be toured for $5. Those under the age of 5 are free.
Several large parking lots are located near the Historical Society grounds, including the Jersey Community High School, located across the street to the north; Lion’s Club Park, across the street to the east, and Jerseyville City Center Plaza, located between Dairy Queen and Germania Brew Haus.
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