On this first page, we introduce you to the festival, we give a brief history of Tioga County Early Days, and we tell you how to navigate our website.
The weekend offers a chance to visit an old fashioned country fair. All weekend long, one can see draft horses in action, either reaping and binding buckwheat (weather permitting), pulling vintage farm equipment, plowing and threshing, or turning a five-horse sweep. Also on display are gas engines, antique tractors, and other vehicles. In addition, there are displays of: chainsaw carving, a saw mill in operation, a blacksmith at work, a working shingle mill, quilting demonstrations, a fresh-produce farmer's market, a real cider mill in operation, Native American demonstrations and displays, and a large flea market.
Grounds open at 9:00 AM daily. Admission is $2.00 per person (except free on Friday). People under 16 always enter for free. Parking is free. For non-member campers on-site, there is a $5.00 weekend Camping Fee.
For more information, contact President Ross Pino (570-659-5949). Alternatively, e-mail Bob Gusciora at bobgusciora@earthlink.net (Note that if you do e-mail, please be sure to have "EARLY DAYS" in the subject line.)
The first reunion and show held by the Tioga County Early Days was in 1965, in the south meadow of the Pino homestead farm, which was located in the northern part of Mansfield Borough, Tioga County, PA. Featured at this first reunion was an antique sawmill and a yoke of oxen. The sawmill was driven by a stationary steam engine, and it demonstrated the sawing of logs into lumber. The yoke of oxen was hitched to a covered wagon, and the team paraded about the show grounds past the other exhibits.
In 1966, Tioga County Early Days was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The primary purpose of the organization is to bring together men, women, boys, and girls who are interested in: antique gas engines, steam engines, tractors, and allied equipment; old farm implements and machinery; old household items and tools; and equipment and machinery associated with life and commerce in Tioga County during the late 1800s and early 1900s (the early days). Another purpose of the organization is to exchange information and provide mutual assistance related to the preservation and operation of these kinds of historical materials.
For the next several years after 1965, a yearly reunion and show was always held, but not during the same month of the year. During the past several years, the yearly reunion and show has been the Fall Festival, which is held in September.
The show grounds of Early Days have moved three times since the first show on the Pino homestead farm. The first move was in 1967 to the Tioga County Fairgrounds in Whitneyville, PA. The second move began in the spring of 1983 to the Ross Pino Windy Ridge Farm near Cherry Flats, PA. This move was completed in 1984, and this site was used until 2005. The third move occurred in 2006. This is the forth year that Early Days are being held on the Linam Farm at 1686 West Hill Road, Covington, PA.
The 2009 Fall Festival will observe the 44th anniversary of Tioga County Early Days, Inc., and it will feature harvest time in Tioga county, PA. The three-day event is much larger than the first show in 1965. In addition to the many and varied activities, spectators will find themselves in the midst of practices and equipment that show how people lived and worked in the past.
Using the navigation bar below (which is repeated on all pages), simply click on the page (or pages) you wish to view.
