A Touch of the 18th Century
by James Brannon
Park Interpretive Specialist
In September, as the summer heat slowly begins to give way to the coolness of fall, a small piece of the past returns to East Tennessee. There in the shadow of The Great Smoky Mountains, on the banks of the Little Tennessee River, Fort Loudoun State Historic Area hosts its annual 18th Century Trade Faire.
Trade Faires were common sights throughout the 18th Century, both in England and in most of her American colonies. In the early days of the century, these faires were mainly commercial. In England important faires were held in London, Bristol, Bath and in many other towns. One early trade faire was known as "St. Bartholomew's Faire". This faire started mainly as a cloth faire with the merchants exhibiting their cloth in the town Priory. This faire, like many other English faires, grew into a more generalized market faire as the century progressed. Streets were filled with booths exhibiting lace, metal wares, jewelry, toys and second-hand cloths, just about anything could be found for sale. Entertainment also became part of the Trade Faire. There were booths filled with wild beasts, freaks and dwarfs. Quack doctors set up shop. Puppet shows, conjurers and theatrical plays also became part of the faires. One famous entertainer known as Faux had become so celebrated that at his death he was worth 10,000 British pounds. In 1769, St. Bartholomew's Faire had grown to such a point that the Mayor had to appoint seventy-two special constables; violence, robbery and even an occasional murder had become part of the Trade Faire.
In America, annual Colonial Trade Faires had also become a part of the lives of people in most of the English colonies everywhere except in New England, where they occurred only occasionally. In Connecticut, Trade Faires were not allowed at all, Samuel Peters said that dancing, hunting, fishing, skating and sleighing were the only acceptable forms of entertainment. The colonial versions of the Trade Faires were usually ordained by law, but sometimes such as the Rye, New Hampshire Faire and the Williamsburg Faire in 1739, support came through private fund raising. Horses, oxen, sheep, cloth, jewelry, food and all types of sundry items were seen at these faires. Entertainment and sports were popular. At the Williamsburg faire, foot races from the college to the capitol were popular. On Long Island, a race for women was watched with great excitement. There were cudgeling bouts (in which contestants fought with sticks), a greased pig contest and grinning contest. Puppet shows, ropewalking and fortunetellers were all popular at the faires. In Virginia, these faires were also utilized to pay debts, trade horses and obtain bills of exchange.
Throughout the 18th Century these trade faires played an important role in the lives of the people. People from all walks of life and all class levels could be seen attending these faires; farmers, merchants, tradesmen, entertainers, mountebanks, pickpockets and thieves all came to the faire. Even though these faires started only to service the merchants, they soon outgrew this limited role and came to fill the social needs of many people of the time.
Each September, Fort Loudoun State Historic Area tries to recreate the mainstay of the 18th Century. In 2002, there were over 200 reenactors and almost 3 thousand visitors to the faire. These visitors watched the antics of Common Stock. They enjoyed the musical performances of Father, Son & Friends and the balancing skills of Signora Bella. Visitors strolled down rows of tents, listening to the call of the trader and sometimes stopping to buy a token of the 18th Century. Perhaps it is time that you came out and discovered the fund of an 18th Century Trade Faire.
Fort Loudoun State Historic Area is located about 30 miles south of Knoxville off highway 411 in Vonore. (map) If you would like to know more about the Trade Faire or Fort Loudoun, please call the park office at 423/884-6217, write to 338 Fort Loudoun Road, Vonore TN 37885 or e-mail us at fortloudoun@tds.net.