From the mule-powered sugar cane mill to the smell of syrup cooking, visitors will become immersed in the days of old in South Georgia on Nov. 19 at the annual cane grinding and syrup making event at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture.
For many Southerners, cane grinding and syrup cooking are family traditions that have been passed down through generations. The Museum’s Historic Village is one of the few places where visitors can step back in time to see a mule-powered mill grinding sugar cane.
The sweet juice pouring from the cane mill is transferred to the syrup shed where it is cooked down in a cast iron kettle to make cane syrup. Costumed interpreters will explain the cane grinding process and the intricacies of producing a delicious bottle of cane syrup.
Educational programs for guests will take place throughout the Village during the day including doll-making, blacksmithing demonstrations, grapevine wreath making, open-hearth cooking, and more.
Guests can also enjoy mule plowing and mule powered cane grinding demonstrations. The steam powered cotton gin will also be running. The Vulcan Steam train ride is always a highlight of the day for Museum guests.
The Museum will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Nov. 19. Admission to the Museum on Saturdays is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (age 55 and over), $6 for children 5-16 years of age, and free for children four and under.
For more information on cane grinding and other upcoming events, interested persons can contact the Museum at (229) 391-5205 or visit the Museum’s website at www.gma.abac.edu.