Living History Park in North Augusta educates younger generation

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A historic tradition returned to the CSRA over the weekend, and its purpose is to educate the next generation.

We stopped by the Living History Park in North Augusta to see how they’re making a difference in young lives.

From a colonial-era magic show to an old-fashioned grist mill, history is alive in North Augusta.

“We are here to celebrate and to educate the people of this area about their 18th-century history,” said Mary White, educator and coordinator of School Days.

North Augusta’s Living History Park has turned into Willow Springs, a town set in the 1700s.

Bob Kaltenbach is a blacksmith interpreter. He said, “We interpret the way it would have been 250 years ago in backcountry South Carolina.”

Teaching people about a skill he says has been forgotten.

“Our intention is just to add to the history that children are learning,” he said.

Something a local homeschool family studying colonial America is experiencing firsthand.

“We have been studying colonial America, and I just happened to look online and see they were having this, and it just coincided perfectly,” the mom said.

It’s taking education beyond the books.

“You can’t always get a good grip of the topics by just reading about it. Sometimes it’s really fun to just see it in person,” she said.

Kaltenbach said: “It’s teaching history in a way that makes it come alive and makes it real.”

Keeping learning fun for the next generation. Making history relevant for the current one.

White said: “We can’t understand what privileges we have today unless we know just where we came from.”

There will be another historic event in October, recreating the Revolutionary Period. The park is also open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They have a walking tour you can take of all the buildings on the property.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.