Articles of Confederation Day - York County History Center

Experience 18th century history first hand.

Celebrate with us!

10 am – 3 pm | Colonial Complex, 157 W. Market St.

Celebrate the adoption of the Articles of Confederation with us! Adults and families can participate in hands-on activities that help us understand the place of the Articles of Confederation in American history and learn about York’s Revolutionary past!

Volunteer with us for the event, sign up here.

Thank you to our generous event sponsors for their support!

Children's Activities

NEW for 2026’s Articles of Confederation Day an activity booklet that opens doors to the history of American Revolution. Upon check in children will receive our activity booklet to enhance their experience. Each child with take on one of six historical personas to better understand the historical figures’ participation during the American Revolution.

◼ People & Places

◼ A League of Friendship

◼ Call to Arms

◼ Spy Ciphers

◼ Colonial Games

◼ Storytime

Tradespeople, historic interpreters, musicians, and more.

Robert Mouland

Robert is a multi-instrumentalist who performs a wide variety of unique presentations in both historical and Irish music. His most popular offering over the past few years has been Dancers On A String which presents a cast of different characters called marionettes a laplanchette, or jig puppets.

Silhouettes By Hand

Lauren Muney cuts traditional silhouettes with only scissors. No shadows. No software. No cameras. Nothing but the eye, paper, and scissors. Fast. Fascinating.

Central York Middle School Fife & Drums

This group is active the central Pennsylvania area performing in various parades, civic events, and reenactments. The corps has performed in Colonial Williamsburg with the Williamsburg Fifes and Drums, as well as in major cities on the east coast including Baltimore, Washington.

Perrin Cottage Perfumery

Rebecca Suerdieck specializes in recreating and demonstrating traditional skills from past times. Little by little, her research and experiments have continued, as she created a unique niche for herself: the production of all-natural fragrances from flowers.

Medical Display

With more than15 years of 18th Century interpretation experience Kilian Head returns for Articles of Confederation Day 2026. He has a history of work at a range of 18th Century focused institutions like Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Museum of the American Revolution.

Stone House History

Stone House History is owned and operated by Jay and Leigh Ann Ouellette. They have been in living history for over 20 years each. Together they bring the life of a Bodger and his family to life by capturing everyday moments and making connections to the past for visitors.

Selene Castrovilla

Step back in time and experience the American Revolution as you’ve never seen it before. Award-winning author Selene Castrovilla brings the patriots to life, revealing not just what happened, but why.

Dulcimer Boys

The Dulcimer Boys are Norm Williams, Cliff Cole, and Rob Yoder. These long-time musician friends have come together to perform a range of folk music inspired by American Old-Time and Celtic traditions.

Chesapeake Independent Blues

The Chesapeake Independent Blue is a historic reenactment group tied to Maryland. They set up camp with us each year and provide historic firing demonstrations. Discuss the ways of the American Revolution with them.

George Washington

American Historical Theatre

Abigail Adams

American Historical Theatre

Ned Hector

Coffee with a Colonial

Coffee with a Colonial gives the opportunity to have a moment to sit down and enjoy sipping through history, enjoying a favorite beverage with discussion and interacting with 18th century material culture.

.918 Club

Lancaster's .918 Club provides demonstrations of their reproduction 1750 Common Press throughout the event.

Articles of Confederation Day FAQ

As the event takes place on a Saturday, the City of York has graciously allowed our event guests to park in the Lafayette Plaza parking lot located at 200 W. Philadelphia Street. If this parking lot is full you are welcome to park in the History Center lot. Both of these locations are shown on the map.

Yes! We are excited to welcome in several local food trucks.

Food trucks

Bricker’s French Fries
More food trucks coming soon.

Articles of Confederation Day activities are free thanks to the support of our event sponsors! Visit the Colonial Complex to experience a variety of activities, talks, 18th century music, and more. Included in the day’s activities is also free access to the History Center Museum from 10 am until 4 pm.

The Articles of Confederation is one of the original founding documents of America. It created a guideline for the newly formed states to come together as a young nation and would later be replaced by the Constitution. We celebrate the Articles of Confederation here in York due to the nine months the Second Continental Congress spent here especially because they adopted the document on November 15, 1777.