Music on the Millrace

Music on the Millrace

“Music on the Millrace” is a new Sunday concert series at the Union Mills Homestead, offered this year at the historic site north of Westminster, MD. The idea was to create a relaxed, inviting event to encourage our members and friends to come out to enjoy the authentic beauty of the site, separate from our other major events. This is a great opportunity to enjoy an afternoon on the beautiful

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Union Mills’ 225th Anniversary

Union Mills’ 225th Anniversary

The Union Mills Homestead celebrated its 225th year in 2022, marking the anniversary of the site’s founding by brothers Andrew and David Shriver, Jr. in 1797. The brothers planned to combine their respective skills in a business enterprise centered on a set of water-powered mills to be built in a wide valley along Big Pipe Creek. The site was promising, strategically located between Westminster and Littlestown where Pennsylvania’s early roads

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Storm Damage Forces Civil War Event Cancellation

Storm Damage Forces Civil War Event Cancellation

A severe storm blew through Maryland on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, causing significant damage at the Union Mills Homestead. The thunderstorm, packing violent straight-line winds, blew through the Maryland area Tuesday late afternoon/early evening causing power outages and tree damage throughout the area. At the Union Mills Homestead, numerous trees were downed and other trees were severely damaged. Assessments are underway to determine how many trees will needed to be

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Corn Roast 2021:  50th Year Celebration

Corn Roast 2021: 50th Year Celebration

The Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Festival, an annual tradition at the Union Mills Homestead, returned this year after the 2020 event was canceled for the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was particularly festive, marking the 50th time the event was held at the site. 50th Celebration a Few Years Delayed The Corn Roast is patterned after picnics and frolics held at the site in times gone by. The event dates to

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Microbrewery Festival Also A COVID Loss

Microbrewery Festival Also A COVID Loss

The Maryland Microbrewery Festival, held each September at the Union Mills Homestead, will not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark your calendars now for next year’s event, which will be on Saturday, September 25, 2021. Highly Anticipated Each Year The Maryland Microbrewery Festival is one of the most anticipated events each year in Carroll County.  The event, which celebrates and promotes the best of Maryland craft

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COVID-19 Forces Corn Roast Cancellation

COVID-19 Forces Corn Roast Cancellation

The Union Mills Homestead Foundation and the Silver Run-Union Mills Lions Club were preparing this year for the 50th Annual Corn Roast Festival, which was scheduled to be held on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. After long discussions about what to do, the two organizations agreed cancellation was the best course of action for everyone involved. The decision turned out to be the right one, as

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Hard-Hitting Early 19th Century Politics

Hard-Hitting Early 19th Century Politics

With another election season upon us, attention once again is focused on the tone of political discourse in the United States. These concerns are not new, however, as politics has been almost a full-contact sport since our nation’s founding. The Shrivers who founded the Union Mills Homestead took center stage in some of the most brutal political battles of the early 19th century. This topic will be one of those

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Christkindlmarkt: Pennsylvania German Traditions at Union Mills Homestead

Christkindlmarkt: Pennsylvania German Traditions at Union Mills Homestead

Just who is Belsnickel? To some the answer may come readily, but for others it is an unknown word. The Belsnickel and related Kris Kindle customs trace to the Palatinate area of Germany. During the early 1700s, these customs were brought to North America by early German immigrants. For many Pennsylvania German families, Kris Kindle or Christkindle was the St. Nick of the Santa Claus tradition, who slips down chimneys

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B.F. Shriver Co. 150th Anniversary Event

B.F. Shriver Co. 150th Anniversary Event

In 1869, Benjamin Franklin Shriver (known to friends and family as “Frank”) started a cannery to preserve excess crops from his father’s farming and milling business. He set up a small canning operation in the cooper’s shop adjacent to the grist mill at Union Mills, owned by his father William Shriver. From this modest shop, where B.F. Shriver began packing corn and cherries, grew one of Maryland’s largest canning businesses.

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Microbrewery Festival Closes Out Beer Week on High Note

Microbrewery Festival Closes Out Beer Week on High Note

The Maryland Microbrewery Festival was held Saturday, September 28, 2019 at the Union Mills Homestead. The event, held on a hot sunny day at the historic site, closed out Carroll County Beer Week on a high note. The Maryland Microbrewery Festival, now in its fourteenth year, dates back to 2006 when a group of board members at the Union Mills Homestead Foundation, Inc. were looking for a new event that

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Corn Roast 2019 a Success; Next Year a Big Anniversary

Corn Roast 2019 a Success; Next Year a Big Anniversary

The 49th Annual Corn Roast Festival at the Union Mills Homestead successfully concluded on August 3, 2019, after feeding almost 1900 guests. For six hours, hungry patrons were served plates of roasted chicken, sliced tomatoes, apple sauce, and a roll, and all the roasted corn they could eat. Guests of All Ages By the time the event opened at 11 a.m., a long line had formed. Customers included many loyal

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New Traffic Pattern at the Corn Roast

Look for a new entrance into the Corn Roast this year. The historic Bollman Bridge (the iron bridge over the tail race) is under construction so we can’t use it for our Corn Roast entrance as we have in the past. The event entrance will be through the picket fence by the gift shop. Please keep an eye out for vehicle traffic as you make your way into and out

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