MADRID — The St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum opened for the summer this past weekend.

The Museum’s campus now covers 18 acres. Visitors can enjoy a great variety of exhibits and experiences from the Carriage Barn and Farmstead at one end and the Civil War Center and Fort Tribute at the other.

In between are sawmills and shingle mills, the maple sugar house, one room school house and other features that demonstrate how earlier technologies helped shape the lives of people of the North Country.

The Museum is open every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the summer months through October from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visits are also possible by appointment by contacting the Museum. Four special events will take place with the first on June 12-13, the 38th Old Time Spring Exhibition.

Most of the exhibits come alive making lumber and shingles, spinning and weaving, antique tractor- pulling competitions, pumpkin planting, parades, Civil War army drills, and more, with wagon rides to help visitors get around. Ham and fixin’s will be served Saturday evening and BBQ chicken on Sunday at noon.

The Civil War Center at Fort Tribute will feature monthly programs. A big Civil War Weekend will take place July 24-25, a cooperative effort of the Museum, the St. Lawrence County Historical Association, and reenactor organizations. Visit the soldiers in their camps, see life in the barracks, and live skirmishes with smoke and sulfur smells from rifle and cannon fire.

The Museum’s 1850 Schoolhouse, 1835 Log Cabin, shingle mill and Blacksmith will be open to provide a period background. Great food from the grill will serve hungry visitors.

The 30th Old Fashioned Harvest Days Exhibition during Labor Day weekend in September will feature harvest activities and horse-pulling competitions as well as all the other features of the Spring Exhibition.

The Museum will be the location of the popular Crafts, Food and Wine Festival on September 25th presented by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. Seventy vendors will offer yummy chocolates, designer cheeses, nuts, sewn goods, jewelry, wood and leather crafts, great food, and the best of the region’s wines. Museum buildings next to vendors will be open to visitors.

The Kids Pumpkin Patch Party on Oct. 3 promises everyone goes home with a painted pumpkin grown at the Museum. There are games, rides, face painting, snacks and treats, and fun for all while parents can relax and enjoy the fall weather.

Machines are moving into the new 1900s Wood Shop, furniture into the Log Cabin, rebuilding of the 1855 church from Lisbon, and new work on an early 1900s Print Shop and General Store. Drop by anytime to see what is happening.

The St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum is located at 1755 State Hwy. 345 in Madrid. It is managed and operated by volunteers. New members are always welcome. To learn more, go to www.slpowermuseum.com or www.forttribute.org. Find us on Facebook at St Lawrence Power and Equipment Museum or Fort Tribute. call 315-322-8956 or write SLPEM, PO Box 400, Madrid, NY 13660. Donations are always welcome.