We continue to offer workshops in the traditional trades & domestic arts. This year the workshops are sponsored by the Historic Eastfield Foundation, which is a non-profit educational institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. As always, our goal is to maintain the highest educational standards.
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 general public. Workshop participants taking classes at the Village have access to the more than twenty buildings & can study the collection of thousands of architectural elements.
Students are involved in actual preservation work & have the experience of working first hand with the tools & materials of the trades taught. The depth & detail of the courses are unique to Eastfield, since many of the courses are five days long. The emphasis is not on lectures. The working craftsmen who teach the courses are available to answer your specific questions & problems.
Unique experience - Students at Eastfield Village have come from as far as London & Alaska as well as from all over the Northeast U.S. Museum professionals representing Williamsburg, Cooperstown, Sturbridge, Monticello & numerous other restorations & museum facilities have also studied at the Village. The mixture of novices, whose interests are their own old houses, & museum professionals, who are looking to expand their specific skills, provides a dynamic opportunity to learn.
The lure of Eastfield is more than its curriculum. Students who are taking the classes at the Village are encouraged to live there during their courses. This offers a special opportunity to understand the daily lives, as well as the 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.
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 and artifacts, as well as establishing the nationally known Workshops. The stated 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 and shoemaking.
Eastfield is located in southern Rensselaer County, near the Massachusetts border.
Registration Information and Policy
Registration is on a "first come - first served" basis. A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the tuition must accompany the registration. The remainder must be received by Eastfield no later than three (3) weeks prior to the commencement of the workshop, or the registrant will lose their space in class and their deposit. Exact traveling directions will be mailed upon receipt of full payment. 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). Eastfield reserves the right to cancel any workshop if minimum subscription levels are not met. In this case, a full refund will be given.
Foster M. Trainer Memorial Scholarship This scholarship is dedicated to a great friend of Eastfield & is administered through the Historic Eastfield Foundation. A number of full & partial scholarships are available for this year’s programs. Contact Eastfield for more information
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 in early 19th century accommodations. The only requirement is that each person choosing to stay at the taverns supply 10 ten-inch white candles.
