History to come alive via kid-friendly reenactment of Boston Tea Party

By Deborah Rose

The possible existence of time travel has long been a popular topic. Come Dec. 16, it will be possible in New Milford.

Those who visit the vicinity of the bandstand on the Village Green will be able to step back in time – to Dec. 16, 1773, to be exact – to experience a family-friendly reenactment of an historical American event, the Boston Tea Party.

Actors will portray Colonialists among the crowd, an abbreviated reading of a 1773 sermon by the Rev. Simeon Howard will be held, and attendees will have an opportunity to purchase commemorative tea, and throw lightweight chests of tea overboard from a mock trade ship, mirroring the actions of the protestors in 1773. 

“This will be a great way for people of all ages to experience a taste of American history,” Heidi Norcross, chair of the Town of New Milford’s New Milford Celebrates America 250! Committee, said of the reenactment.

The 2 p.m. event, which is co-sponsored by the committee and the Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, recognizes the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which led into the American Revolution.

“We’re on the cusp of this milestone anniversary of the American Revolution,” Norcross said. “And the Boston Tea Party played a pivotal role propelling the revolution forward.”

The event is one of many the committee will present in town in the coming months and years, culminating with the grand celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026.

The reenactment is the committee’s second event, this time incorporating a fundraising component. The first was a Children of 1773 Scavenger Hunt this past summer.

Michael Bird, a committee member and first vice president of Connecticut Society, Sons of the American Revolution, related how “in this day and age, everyone and anyone seems to believe that to protest the actions of their government, be it local, state or federal is a God-given right and privilege.”

“But in reality, it is something that's only about 250 years old and is truly an American gift to the world,” he emphasized.

WHAT WAS THE BOSTON TEA PARTY?

The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party as a protest that targeted the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies.

The protestors destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company by throwing more than 300 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The episode was considered an act of treason by the British government and led into the American Revolution.

“The Boston Tea Party was the very first protest by the well-educated regular folks in an urban community that was peaceful, political and led by the merchant and middle classes of an English (British American) city,” said Bird, who is a New Milford resident.

“They were not the peasant ramble that the rulers in England could brush off and walk over,” he noted. “The Sons of Liberty were the backbone of the white, male, self-made and self-ruling citizens of a major port city in the British kingdom.”

“The Boston Tea Party really changed the world and the way that rulers needed to take notice of their actions and the wishes of the people,” he said.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE REENACTMENT

The reenactment will include a live narrative reading and portrayal of Colonialists expressing their distaste for the tea tax among those gathered on the Green, and the opportunity to throw tea chests overboard a ship and purchase commemorative tea.

An abbreviated reading of a sermon by Rev. Howard, a Boston minister who outlined a definition of liberty to a company of artillery soldiers in 1773 just before open hostilities broke out between the colonists and the British government, will also be held.

Individuals interested in boarding the volunteer-made ship to toss over a lightweight replica chest of tea will be asked to pay $5 and receive a commemorative souvenir box, or pay $1 and receive one commemorative tea bag.

The chests are marked with the East India Company logo that was stamped on the original crates of tea dumped from three ships, the Beaver, Dartmouth and Eleanor.

Souvenir boxes will contain three commemorative tea bags and goodies such as as puzzles, bubbles and other items geared toward children.

Individuals that purchase a commemorative souvenir box will be given a ticket for a drawing. The prize is a wooden tea chest with an assortment of Boston Tea Party memorabilia and other items.

Donations of any amount will also be accepted for tickets for the drawing.

Individuals and families that do not want to throw tea overboard are still welcome to buy commemorative souvenir tea boxes for $5 each.

Hot chocolate will also be on hand to purchase.

“I feel so many of the beliefs and struggles our Colonial ancestors had resonate with our fellow Americans today,” Norcoss commented. “Through this reenactment, we can connect with our Colonial ancestors and our country’s history.”

Fellow organizers expressed their hope that families will come out for this special activity. 

Bird said he hopes kids, especially, attend the event, saying “they need a little face time with history.”

“Think of (the reenactment) on the Green as a free field trip into the past,” Bird said.

Deborah Rose/Commemorative tea will be available to purchase at the Dec. 16 Boston Tea Party reenactment on the New Milford Village Green.

Deborah Rose/A volunteer puts together the commemorative tea bag pouches.

Courtesy of Heidi Norcross/A drawing to win this wooden chest filled with Boston Tea Party memorabilia - including stickers, a T-shirt, team, and other goods - will be held Dec. 16 at the reenactment.

Contributed/The Town of New Milford's New Milford Celebrates America 250! Committee and the Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution are co-sponsors of the Dec. 16 Boston Tea Party reenactment.