Mercersburg Partners with 18th-Century Farmstead to Transport Students Back in Time

In the summer of 2021, Emily Parsons P ’21, ’22, ’26 was seeking experiences for the students she would lead in her new role as Mercersburg’s director of Community Engagement. Opportunities were limited due to COVID-19 protocols that remained in place, so outdoor activities were being explored.

Parsons contacted Matthew Wedd at The Conococheague Institute to see if he might be interested in having students work on projects at the historic farmstead near the village of Welsh Run, less than 10 miles from the school.

Little did either of them know how one conversation would burgeon into a robust partnership that would benefit the Academy, the Institute, and the community at large.

Initially, the work included planting trees, painting historical structures, and restoring a 1760s pioneer cemetery, plus other outdoor preservation work.

“I saw this as a perfect opportunity. I’d wanted to implement this idea for years–a longer immersion program where students literally ‘live’ history, and the students from Mercersburg were the perfect fit.”
Matthew Wedd

“It was immediately beneficial, and I wanted to maintain that relationship,” said Wedd, the Institute’s executive director. “We fully signed up for future Community Engagement, which we have done every spring and fall since 2021.”

Parsons, a member of Mercersburg’s history faculty who holds the Marilyn and Robert M. Kurtz Jr. ’52 Chair for American Studies, also saw the value of the partnership and wondered if it could be expanded.

“The Conococheague Institute is an incredible local resource for education and creative collaboration,” she said.

During the winter of 2021-2022, Parsons reached out to Wedd about the Mercersburg Intensive, a program which allows students to study a single topic for an extended period of time.

What if students immersed themselves in 18th-century Pennsylvania frontier life? What if they dressed, worked, ate, played, and spoke as if they had been transported back in time?

Would The Conococheague Institute be interested in partnering with Mercersburg Academy for a living history program?

“I saw this as a perfect opportunity,” Wedd said. “I’d wanted to implement this idea for years—a longer immersion program where students literally ‘live’ history, and the students from Mercersburg were the perfect fit.”

As Parsons and Wedd brainstormed possibilities, they realized that the extent of the program, which they eventually called “Full on Frontier: Can You Live 18th Century?,” would depend on support received.

“I worked with Emily, so that we could develop this program,” Wedd said. “We had an outline, and I’d seek a donor to fund it. If successful, we’d go ahead with the full program.”

Wedd reached out to Kurtz, who had established the chair in Mercersburg’s history department. Kurtz generously supported the project, enabling Wedd to purchase period clothing and interpretative materials. Following successful iterations of this program, Kurtz established an endowment to benefit early American life programs between Mercersburg Academy and The Conococheague Institute.

“We can now lend our clothes to students from the region—from the Tuscarora School District, Greencastle-Antrim School District, and Mercersburg Academy—so students from all over are able to reap the rewards of that program’s success,” Wedd said.

Accolades and Awards

Accolades have poured in for the program, which, with its colorful images of youth participating in living history, lends itself to promotion. Wedd was named Educator of the Year for the Cumberland Valley Business Alliance. The Institute received Tuscarora Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit of the Year award. Perhaps the most prestigious honor came when the program won a state-level Pennsylvania Museums award.

Students who participated noted the value of experiential learning, a key component of Mercersburg’s strategic design meaning and mastery mission.

“I learned so much about the 18th century through cooking, working, and having fun,” Jamie Vulakh ’24 wrote after the experience. “I made so many amazing memories on the frontier.”

An additional perk was realized in increased engagement with the site’s programs.

“After these images went out of 2021’s ‘Can You Live 18th Century?,’ we had new volunteers reach out to us,” Wedd said. “Showing a diverse and engaged youth enjoying living history inspires others to try it out.

“Not every student starts the journey at The Conococheague Institute through a love of history. Some may be interested in clothing, food, or culture. But everyone leaves with an appreciation for the early American experience.”

“I learned the inner cogs of a nonprofit organization.”
Selena Feng ’24

Devin Rotz ’25 said his and fellow students’ work was intertwined with the background of the site. While that time period of history is one that Rotz previously had explored on a limited basis, he was inspired by Wedd’s motivation and optimism.

“It was awesome to listen to him talk about his work and everything that he does, as leading a nonprofit is a job that really interests me,” Rotz said.

Mercersburg aims to build on areas of student interest in order to facilitate learning.

“Research tells us that students can only learn deeply when the experience means something to them,” said Associate Head of School for School Life Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, P ’18, ’20, ’22, ’23, who referenced the work of Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a professor at the University of Southern California and director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education.

“In fact, Dr. Immordino-Yang has gone so far as to say that it is neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about things that you don’t care about. The experiential learning opportunities at The Conococheague Institute create the conditions for rich learning that engage students’ curiosity and propel them to make meaningful connections to history and the local community.”

Fondness for the Frontier

The Conococheague Institute in southern Franklin County is a hands-on regional learning center headquartered within Rock Hill Farm. Established in the early 18th century, the 30-acre farmstead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and includes two historic house museums with outbuildings, a research library, two relocated historic log structures, walking trails with access to the pioneer cemetery, and several historic gardens. A 12-minute drive from the Academy, it is easily accessible from campus.

Nathalie Maurer ’23, who was an intern at the Institute during the summer of 2023, wrote in a post-internship reflection that she made connections and friendships during her time there.

“I was taught so many invaluable skills that I’ll use at college and beyond,” Nathalie Maurer said. “I’ve gained so much fondness for life on the frontier, and I have learned so many things.”

Selena Feng ’24 learned about uses of countless artifacts and about the daily life of settlers on the Appalachian frontier.

“I tried so many new things: I dressed historically; I learned how to weave tapes; I baked an apple pie historically; I learned how to shoot a longbow; I played Graces, Shut the Box, and Nine Men’s Morris; and I put out a (controlled) fire. I planted flowers, pulled weeds (morning glory, wild lettuce, etc.),” said Feng, who also was an Institute intern during the summer of 2023. “I learned the inner cogs of a nonprofit organization, from successes in visitor education, (to) customer service, and budget management. There is so much more that goes into running an organization, educational bookings, and weekly events than one may expect.”

The partnership between the Institute and the Academy has proven valuable in multiple ways, Julie Maurer said. “For our history students and our students who are wanting to be engaged in the community, that relationship has been a really powerful one. They’re learning about multiple areas when they’re there. Yes, there’s the history, but there’s also the preservation initiatives, the community education aspect, and learning how to run a nonprofit. Matthew provides our students with a great example of how to do all of that work well.”