Celebrate Winter Welcome Week at Washington's Headquarters

NEWBURGH — End the old year in 18th century style with a visit to Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site during Winter Welcome Week on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, Dec. 26, 27 or 28, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admire seasonally decorated rooms as you walk through them with 18th century attired historic interpreters. The interpreters will explain how the Washingtons wished to maintain some semblance of the yuletide, even though the Revolutionary War had not ended. The mood, though low-key in deference to the war, mirrored some of the holiday spirit the Washingtons were familiar with from their pre-war holidays.

The historic headquarters, rented by the Washingtons from April 1, 1782 until Aug. 19, 1783, was the location where General Washington wrote a stirring speech that quelled a military rebellion, announced the ceasefire ending the Revolutionary War, rejected becoming a monarch and created and awarded the Badge of Military Merit, precursor of the Purple Heart.

Admission to the headquarters is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors 62 and older as well as students, and free for children 12 and under. It includes the award-winning museum, which houses over 1,300 artifacts in the new exhibit "Unpacked and Rediscovered," and a take-home craft - a silhouette traced using a camera lucida to create a personal souvenir to take home as a remembrance of the day.

The Headquarters and Museum are located at the corner of Liberty and Washington Streets in the city of Newburgh's East End Historic District. Call 845-562-1195 for further details or directions.