A Problem and an Opportunity

First, A little Background on “Living History”

When you see a living historian at a museum or a national park, they come in two flavors:  paid staff or hobby living historians.  The people who pursue living history as a hobby tend to be very passionate about collecting their own “kit,” (clothing, firearms, period tools and camping equipment), and doing their own research.  Over the years, Riley’s Farm has hosted some truly spectacular hobby living historians. One fellow amassed an inventory of 18th century medical equipment exceeding $20,000 in value.  Another couple who regularly appeared at Colonial Faire staged a very engaging colonial camp cooking station, featuring all of their own research.  We’ve even had long hunters who–in real life–ventured off into the wilderness with nothing but parched corn in their satchels, feeding themselves off venison shot in the wild.  When Steven Spielberg filmed the final battle scene of Amistad, 300 hobby Civil War reenactors gathered here to create a composited battle scene that truly made it look like “a cast of thousands.”

On the paid staff side of things, we also train and provide wardrobe for a lot of gifted young actors who populate our living history events.  Just yesterday, an influencer with over 100,000 followers on Instagram told us, “Everyone was extremely organized, professional, and great with kids! We would love to come back next year!!” Being a living historian at Riley’s Farm is a fun gig, and over the years, a lot of young people have actually found their sweethearts here.  As my wife, Mary, puts it: “if we didn’t do anything, we helped create a lot of families.”

The problem: a lot of our best “hobby” living historians have moved out of California, to states like Kentucky or Tennessee or Texas or Idaho or Arizona. People who tell the story of the struggle for liberty, as a hobby, as their gift to the broader public, can only suffer so much punishing irony.  Let’s face it, we live in a very controlling environment:  you can’t even purchase a gas powered sit-down lawn-mower in California.  You can’t even send your child to public school without worrying about what alt-sex staff members might be doing in the way of grooming.  Even the “shrines” of Civil War history in California, places like Ft. Tejon, no longer host Civil War living history events.  This mirrors a larger national trend.  One reenactor lamented, this past weekend, “you guys and Huntington Beach are the only places that will host an event.”  Another long time 18th century redcoat reenactor confessed to me that a national park wanted them to appear “without their muskets.”

Problem Number 2: Hating Ourselves

To make matters worse: the whole 1619, “woke” poison has had its intended effect: it turns normal people into blithering idiots.  Take a look at a recent Facebook exchange illustrated here.  When we advertise a Civil War reenactment, depicting, (in this case mostly Union soldiers), a few correspondents reply, “You lost!  Get over it.”  (Have you ever encountered a social media comment so obtuse, you get a little dizzy trying to figure out what the moron actually meant?)  The person in question here actually had a “Che” banner on her profile, and most of the comments were in our favor, but you really have to wonder how many young people have been taught a totally dismissive picture of Western Civilization. (You should all take this very seriously.  If your children have been taught to hate their history, they have been taught to hate you as well.) As a nation, we can, and must be self-critical, but to dismiss the deaths of 600,000 Americans in a fight to end slavery?  To look at a picture of living historians portraying Union Soldiers and then write, “you lost?”

The Opportunity

Bake up an American renaissance.  Take back your history, and America’s story.  Picture your family, fully decked out in 1862 attire, making a meal around the campfire, and getting ready for a period ball later in the day. Imagine building an 18th century fort on top of one of our hilltops, or cheering on dad and sons in a battle reenactment.   During the heyday of 1990s living history, many families spent at least one weekend a month camping, dancing, and worshipping with other “living history” families.  As hobbies go, you could do a lot worse. You get to camp and learn at the same time.

We’re ready to show you how..  If you are interested, send us an email

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This post was written by Jim Riley