• All day
  • Visit the Orientation Room to learn about life in 1776 from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
  • Test yourself with historic games of skill out on the lawn between the two farms.
    • Sack races, 3-legged races, and more

• 9 am - 12 noon
  • Visit the Beers Sisters Icehouse to make your pennant and learn the cheers for your beloved Rough & Readies team

• 10 am - 12 noon
  • Head out to the schoolhouse pasture to enjoy a game of base ball played with 1864 rules
    • Littleton Rough & Readies vs Colorado Territorial All-Stars

     

• 1 pm
  • Follow the parade after the game to the 1890s farm for a reading of the Declaration of Independence
    • A reading was a centerpiece of most Independence Day celebrations in the 1800s
• After the reading of the Declaration, the kid's activities continue.

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A Closer Look at 1864 Baseball Rules, Regulations, & Customs:

The 1864 rules are a bit different than games you're used to. A couple of notable changes:

• Played with wooden bats only.
• No gloves - balls can be caught with hands or hats (or with a skirt held as a hammock if ladies are playing!)
• The game is played an an unimproved field. (We're using the field where the pumpkins are put for Harvest Festival)
• "The striker is out if a foul ball is caught, either before touching the ground, or upon the first bound."
  • If the ball is caught while still in the air, OR after the first bounce off the ground, it's an 'out'.
• "... the pitcher ... must have neither foot in advance of the front line or off the ground at the time of delivering the ball"
  • To reduce the speed of a pitch, the pitcher must have both feet on the ground throughout the pitch.