We continue to offer workshops & symposia in the traditional trades & domestic arts. Our goal is to maintain the highest educational standards. In these difficult financial times, it is important for many homeowners to be able to deal with the issues of historic home maintenance & restoration on their own without hiring contractors to do the work. Even for those who can still afford to hire contractors, it is important that they be aware of the processes involved in the work to insure they are getting the highest quality workmanship on their projects.
There are a great number of research & restoration projects in the works at Eastfield & as usual, students may be involved in many phases of these projects.
Preservation Laboratory - Eastfield's collections are not available to the public. Workshop participants taking classes at the Village have access to more than twenty buildings & can study the collection of thousands of architectural elements & typical artifacts from the daily lives of early America.
In some courses students are involved in actual preservation work & have the experience of working first hand with the tools & materials of the trades being taught. The depth & detail of the courses are unique to Eastfield, since many of the courses are five days long. The emphasis is not only on lectures; many programs include extensive hands-on work. The craftsmen who teach these courses are available & happy to answer your specific questions & problems.
The lure of Eastfield is more than its curriculum. Students who take the classes at the Village are encouraged to live there during their courses. This offers a special opportunity to understand the daily lives & work of the tradesmen of the pre-industrial age. Meals may be cooked in the late-18th century kitchens. Accommodations are rope beds with straw & feather ticks. Eastfield offers an opportunity to be with others - students and teachers - of similar interests. Most evenings there are gatherings in the Briggs Tavern & lively conversations in front of a warm fireplace.
Eastfield Origins - Eastfield Village is home to its creator, Donald Carpentier & his family. He moved the first building, a blacksmith's shop, into his father's "east field" in 1971. In the years since, Don has amassed a collection of buildings & artifacts & established the nationally known Workshops. The stated time period is 1787 – 1840 & all the buildings date from those years. They include a towering Greek Revival church, a thirteen room 18th century tavern & many smaller buildings devoted to the individual trades, including carpentry, tinsmithing, printing & shoemaking.
Lodging at Eastfield Village - One of the most intriguing facets of Eastfield's workshops is the experience of living in the Village during the class. Eastfield's taverns are available FREE OF CHARGE for those wishing to stay as our guests in early 19th century accommodations. The only requirement is that each person choosing to stay at the taverns supply 10 ten-inch white candles.
Tours & Special Events- Eastfield is now open, by appointment for tours by groups of 10 or more and available to rent for special events like weddings, meetings and parties. It may also be rented as a location for commercials and period films. Both antiques and reproductions are now for sale in the E. A . Brown General Store by appointment.
Eastfield is located in southern Rensselaer County, near the Massachusetts border.
Registration Information
Registration is on a "first come - first serve" basis. A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the tuition must accompany the registration and the remainder must be received by Eastfield no later than three (3) weeks prior to the commencement of the workshops, or the registrant will lose their space in class and their deposit. Exact traveling directions will be mailed upon receipt of your DEPOSIT. No refunds will be given after six(6) weeks prior to that particular workshop. (Registrants from outside of the United States are asked not to send personal checks. Please send a cashier's check or money order in U.S. funds.)
