Musee de Venoge

10/19/2026

WHO WAS THAT MASKED HERO?????
Meet Venoge’s unsung hero! In publishing all the photos of Saturday’s Heritage Day Celebration we missed someone. This someone is a very important hero, or in this case heroine! Board member Hannah Summers was everywhere behind the scenes. If it were not for her, meals would not have been served, especially the delicious feast she and board member Mike Kruse prepared for all of us after the public left.

In all that hub bub of celebrating we didn’t even get a picture of Hannah! The one shown here was taken the weekend before at Sleepy Hollow Day! And all it shows is her back!

Hannah is a rare treasure. We are so honored to have her on the Musee de Venoge board. If you join us at Country Christmas, we will make sure Hannah is front and center and you get to meet her. We guarantee, once you do you too will realize how lucky we are to have her part of our Musee de Venoge Team! Thanks so much Hannah!!!!

10/19/2026

IT WAS HERITAGE! IT WAS HISTORY!
And above all it was fun! Yesterday, October 17, we here at Venoge celebrated the 250th birthday of Jacob Weaver! Arriving in Switzerland County from Ulster County, NY, in 1813 Jacob would build the Venoge cottage in 1828.

Visitors to Heritage Day were treated to a day of merriment and history! There was music, dance, birthday cake, and artistic demonstrations of 19th century home making skills.

All of that centered round the return to Venoge, if however brief, of nine of the letters written by Jacob Weaver over his 34 years in Indiana. Some of the letters on display were actually written in the Venoge Cottage. To see them in person, brought home the fact to all, history is the story of us: all of us. It also reinforced for us at Venoge our motto:. "There is so much undiscovered history yet to be revealed."

We want to thank all of you from the community and surrounding who joined us for our celebration Enjoy some of the pictures and videos we have here attached. Happy Birthday Jacob Weaver, and the United States of America!

10/16/2026

THIS IS NO GAMBLE!
In fact it's a guaranteed winning bet! Be sure and join us tomorrow at Musee de Venoge for Heritage Day! This free event runs from 10 am to 4 pm.

We'll be celebrating the 250th Birthday of Jacob Weaver. Born in 1776, Jacob and his family came to
Indiana in 1813. He built the Venoge cottage in 1828. As part of that celebration, tonight we reveal the final special surprises we have in store for you!

Musee de Venoge is proud for to have the Applecore Inn joining us for this event. Their period tavern will be set up just in front of the cottage. P:roprietor Keith Harmon and his....employees....will be dispensing historical libations. These drinks will also include non alcoholic varieties. Just like our event, those concoctions are FREE! Enjoy the camaraderie and fun at the Applecore! You won't regret it.

Any celebration would be incomplete without music. The amazing and talented Justine Cefalu returns to perform French tunes, as might have been heard in the Venoge Cottage. A gifted fiddle player and vocalist Ms. Cefalu was a huge hit during our special spring concert in the cottage. Her music is sure to bring a smile to your face and set you feet tapping!

We're gambling on this last one. No....actually you are. Venoge Board member Dana Gagnon will be challenging you to games of chance that were popular in the 18th and 19th century. You'll probably find her in the Applecore challenging anyone to try their skill at wagering.. Take your chance and see if you can come away a winner.!

Join us tomorrow for Heritage Day. at Musee de Venoge from 10 am to 4 pm. You'll have fun. This is s a sure bet! It's all free. Told you it was a winner!

10/14/2026

We're all dressed up and we've got somewhere to go! So do you. Make plans to join us on Saturday October 17 for Heritage Day. From 10 am to 4 pm you can step into the 19th century as we step out and celebrate the 250th birthday of Jacob Weaver.

Kick up your heels with a special performance by the Forget Me Not Dancers! This group has been very popular at Venoge for past events. We are honored to have them back. You'll want to dance along with them.

This event is high toned! Steve Abolt will be presenting a display of 19th century clothing he has replicated for Venoge. You've seen a good deal of his work in our videos. You have also seen his work in many museums and historic sites throughout the United States. Now get an up close and personal look on construction techniques and styles of the time period 1805-45.

We knew you were coming so we baked a cake. What would a birthday celebration be without a birthday cake? Heritage Day has got that too. To have a piece of this culinary treat all you need to do is be at Musee de Venoge for Heritage Day Saturday from 10 to 4. Its FREE! Consider it our birthday gift to all of you!

10/12/2026

HOME EC 19th Century Style!
Heritage Day is this Saturday October 17 at Musee de Venoge. From 10 am to 4 pm you are cordially invited to join us as we celebrate the 250th Birthday of Jacob Weaver, builder of our cottage. We have a full day of FREE activities planned.

Some of those activities center around making a house a home. One way can be baking breads and pies in our wood fired bake oven. Don't forget the decorative arts, such as hand drawn and painted cards and fabric dying using natural dyes.

Some items you can purchase and take home! They'll help you make your house a home!

Since we are showcasing the letters of Jacob Weaver you will even get the chance to wax seal your own letter! Before there were gummed envelopes there was the wax seal. Try your hand at it. Just try not to set your letter on fire in the process.

And don't think this all we have planned. Stay tuned for more event information coming to you this week!

Make your plans now and join us for Heritage Day at Musee de Venoge Saturday October 17! It's Heritage. It's Fun! It's FREE!

10/07/2026

YOU'VE GOT MAIL!
Be sure and join us at Musee de Venoge Saturday Oct, 17 for Heritage Day! From 10 am to 4 pm we have a special free event celebrating the 250th birthday of Jacob Weaver, the builder of Venoge Cottage.

Born in Ulster County New York in 1776 Jacob would move his family to the Indiana Territory in 1813. For 34 years he wrote a series of letters to his father and brothers back in Ulster County. Those letters were miraculously preserved. Today they reside in the Library of the Indian Historical Society in Indianapolis. Many of these letters were written in the Venoge Cottage.

We are proud to announce some of letters are returning for this one-day event. See them in the very room in which they were written! We are indebted to Suzanne Hahn, Vice President of Archives and Library for the Indiana Historical Society who will be transporting them down for our event. She will also be giving a special program on the letters themselves and the Indiana Historical Society.

This is just one of many free activities scheduled for the day. Over the next 10 days we will be publishing a series of posts about what you can expect. Be sure to check back and see what we have in store for you. All of it is FREE!

This isn't junk mail. It's actual history you can see in the room where it happened!

09/28/2026

YOU DON'T LOOK A DAY OVER 249!
Get ready to Celebrate the 250th Birthday of Jacob Weaver, the builder of the Venoge Cottage. You can do that by joining us on Saturday October 17 for our grand event!

From 10 am to 4 pm Musee de Venoge is hosting Heritage Day! This free event celebrates Jacob’s birthday, the Weaver family, the history of Venoge Cottage and the story of early Indiana as seen though the eyes of Jacob and his family.

One of the best ways to experience Jacob's story is through the letters he wrote during his time in Indiana. Those letters have been preserved and are currently housed in the collections of the Indiana Historical Society. Many were written in the cottage. You will be able to see them in the very room in which they were written! We are indebted to the Indiana Historical society who will be bringing some of the letters down for you to view.

For your ease, we have the Applecore Inn run by Keith Harmon and crew. Here you can partake of free libations! Also, on our grounds you will find birthday cake, music, historic arts and lectures. And all of it is FREE!

We will be posting regular updates on what you can expect. For right now, save the date, Saturday October 17. Join us for Heritage Day at Musee de Venoge! Those are a lot of birthday candles!

09/22/2026

THE OLD IS NEW AGAIN
This past Sunday we started getting ready for our big 250th Birthday celebration for Jacob Weaver. The event is Saturday October 17. It is free and open to the public. We will be posting plenty of information about it here on our page.

Part of getting ready was removing our Eagle Tavern set. It was a rather bittersweet day. Our tavern cage set up had been standing for the last four years. The final 3 episodes of “Tales from the Tavern’ are in the editing process.

What follows are some pictures of the tear down. Venoge cottage will be going back to its cottage configuration. The Eagle Tavern will return at some future date.

09/16/2026

Tickets to “The Den of Poe” can now be purchased on our website: https://historichoosiertheater.org/

🕯️”The Den of Poe” 🕯️
A play based on the tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe. 🎭
Starring Steve Abolt.

Friday, October 16th.
7:00 PM.

Drinks available for purchase by Roxy’s!

Tickets can also be purchased at the door, the night of.

09/13/2026

MORE THAN HARD WORK CAN GET YOU PROMOTED.
A good aim is an even greater asset! You'll find that out when you watch tonight's musical video offering. Part of our special outdoor concert "Along the Banks of the Ohio," Popular music of the Indiana Frontier, it was filmed live back in June. The performance features Kim and Paul Caudell along with Adin Pemberton, Michael Kruse and Michael Thompson.

We dug down into the very darkest regions of our cargo hold and uncovered this musical gem: a murder ballad! Titled "Willie Taylor" this jaunty tune was quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has all the elements that make murder ballads so intriguing. There is love, betrayal, revenge, and as you'll find out, quite an unexpected twist!

We guarantee you'll be singing along before it is over. Especially if you have been unsuccessful in earning advancement at your place of work. However, we recommend you don't use the method described in this song in obtaining that promotion. Your results may vary! Void in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Murder Ballads were popular in the 18th and 19th century. Performe...