NEWS & EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
DECEMBER 2 - DECEMBER 30, 2023
Vintage Holidays Guided Tours of the Historic Haile Homestead. Come visit and enjoy our Vintage Holidays decorations on our guided tours. December 2nd through December 30th, during regular weekend hours. Closed Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. $5 per person, under 12 free. Group tours (10 or more) $4 per person. Funded in part by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County, FL.
PAST NEWS & EVENTS
"Tracing Your Ancestors" workshop coming up on Saturday, November 11th at 4 PM at the Matheson History Museum. Free!
"Tracing Your Ancestors" workshop coming up on Saturday, April 15th at 1 PM at Kanapaha Church, 6221 SW 75th Terrace, Gainesville.
History & Holidays Guided Tours -
Come visit the Historic Haile Homestead and see it decorated for the holidays! This year's theme is Angels! Learn more about the 1856 Homestead, the enslaved people who lived and labored there, as well as the Haile family.
Tours will be conducted from December 3rd through December 31st, Saturdays (10 AM to 2 PM) and Sundays (12 PM to 4 PM). Last tour begins 45 minutes before closing. Closed Christmas Eve & Day and New Year's Day. $5 per person, under 12 free!
Funded in part by Visit Gainesville/Alachua County, FL
Highway Sign - Some time ago, we lost our highway sign due to damaging tropical storm winds. Thanks to fundraising efforts and support from our fans and members, we are in the process of replacing our sign. Update: We'll start after the Kitchen Rebuild is finished! Stay tuned for more information!
Karen A. Kirkman Kitchen - We are also in the process of rebuilding our kitchen, which burned down in the 1920's. Our new kitchen will help us better interpret our site, and give visual references to some of the working environments of the enslaved. UPDATE: The building of the Kitchen is under way! Still have to raise another $10K.
The Chesnut Pathway: We are pleased to announce the receipt of a $25,000 gift from Jim and Pat Chesnut to name the pathway from the Allen & Ethel Graham Visitors Center to the Homestead! The sign will read: "Pathway dedicated by James (Jim) and Pat Chesnut in honor of Thomas and Helen Chesnut.” Jim is a descendant of Thomas Whitaker Chesnut and his wife, Helen Taylor Chesnut, who moved to Alachua County about the time when Thomas and Serena Haile moved here in 1854. Jim and his wife Pat live on the original land purchased by the Chesnuts, immediately to the east of the original Thomas Haile property. Thomas and Helen Chesnut's home, which very much resembled the Haile Homestead, burned down in the early 1900s. Jim and Pat, members of the Haile Heritage Council, have donated several pieces of furniture to HHH over the past few years, including an 1850s bed, an 1870s coffee grinder and a 4-student desk among other things. They have also donated an American Empire round marble-topped table c. 1820s, which was moved to the Homestead's parlor. The table was owned by the Chesnut family and remained in the family until the donation. Many thanks to Jim and Pat Chesnut for their longtime support of HHH Inc!
November 2021: HHH Receives American Rescue Plan funds
Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities and Florida Humanities, HHH received a $6,000 grant of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 funds. HHH Inc. was one of 129 organizations in Florida funded. The funds will be used to cover mowing and utilities costs, at a time when HHH and other non-profits have been impacted by the pandemic. Funding has been provided to HHH Inc. by Florida Humanities through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021. NEH is
committed to Sustaining the Humanities through the American
Rescue Plan.
Reclaiming Kin: The Legacy of Hampton and Grace Hathcock -On Thursday, February 13, 2020, at 7 PM, Family historian and descendant Tatanya Peterson and HHH President and Historian Karen Kirkman spoke about their research into the legacy of Hampton and Grace Hathcock, who were enslaved on James Chesnut's plantation in Alachua County.
