Philipsburg Manor is an 18th-century milling and trading complex that was owned by an Anglo-Dutch family of merchants, rented in small plots by tenant farmers of diverse backgrounds, and operated by a community of enslaved individuals of African descent. School programs examine northern colonial slavery and its impact on the commercial, economic, and cultural development of New York.
 School Program FAQs
February Only
Admission: $6
Program length: 2 hours
Group limit: 30
Grades: 8-12
Reading Between the Lines: Understanding Runaway Advertisements
and Enslavement in the Colonial north
Runaway slave advertisements are one of the richest sources of information about the enslaved population in the colonial north. Prior to visiting Philipsburg Manor, students read and discuss an essay about runaway advertisements found in colonial newspapers. At Philipsburg Manor, students examine and discuss a variety of runaway advertisements from the colonial period, look at art works based on the ads, and create an artwork or creative writing piece based on the ads. Students will also take a brief tour of the historic site.
Fridays Only
Admission: $6
Program length: 1½ hours
Group limit: 60
Grades: 1-2
Pre-Visit Materials
Touching The Past
A touch tour oriented towards younger students. Students visit the barn/farm, activity center, mill, and other areas of the site. Depending on the season and time of day, students learn about colonial life through activities such as grooming oxen, threshing wheat, picking and carding wool, preparing food, and touching and examining a wide variety of colonial goods.
Millers and Merchants
The program focuses on the interconnected roles of the enslaved Africans, Anglo-Dutch landowners, and tenant farmers who lived and worked within the colonial economic system. Students visit the farm, mill, activity center, and manor house where they participate in an interactive lesson that teaches them about Philipsburg Manor’s role in the developing world of international trade.
African Culture: Continuity and Change
Students explore the lives of the enslaved Africans who lived and worked at Philipsburg Manor as they tour the mill, wharf, farm, and activity center. Through examining source materials, students understand the contributions of African culture and how it was transmitted, sustained, and changed in the north
Life and Labor on a Provisioning Plantation: Slavery at Philipsburg Manor
An in-depth tour of the historic site offers older students the opportunity to understand the ways in which slavery became institutionalized at Philipsburg and in the north, the multiple forms of resistance, and the movement towards the abolition of slavery. Students examine numerous primary documents that illuminate the themes of the tour.
February Only
Admission: $450 per class
Program length: 2 1/2 hours
Group limit: 28
Grades: 4-7
Pre-Visit Materials
Work and Community
Students examine the structure of rural colonial society through their morning's work: farming, milling, cooking, or making cloth. Small groups of students spend an hour learning these skills and their significance to the community. The class then visits the farm, the mill, and the activity center, where their fellow students share their experiences. A snack, created by students, is included.
Pinkster / May 18, 19, and 20, 2009
Come to Pinkster Day, a celebration of spring that was brought to the Hudson River Valley by Dutch settlers and adapted by Africans in the New World. Pinkster provided enslaved and free Africans a rare opportunity to celebrate community and preserve and enjoy their African traditions. Classes hear African folk tales, learn of the sounds and purposes of gourd instruments and drums, and participate in African colonial dancing.
Learn more about Pinkster
 Pinkster is sponsored by Con Edison.
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