Old Time Autumn was held in Brownville on October 12 and 13, a beautiful Saturday and Sunday that featured Civil War Reenactments, authentic meals, concerts and museum tours. People from both Brownville and neighboring towns, cities and states attended the events.
Steve Woerth, a member of the Brownville Historical Society, explained that the reenactors were from all over the Midwest, traveling around different locations to put on performances in period- specific attire and with authentic muskets. The troupes, as Woerth explained, set up camps of canvas tents in some of the open grassy areas in Brownville and some of the actors had been staying there since the Thursday before. The reenactors didn’t ask for money as payment, either, but for their black powder reserves to be replenished so they could move on to the next battleground, freshly stocked.
Woerth noted that around 150 actors were present for this year’s performances, more than had come for many years. They staged battles down Brownville’s Main Street in the morning, then moved up to 6th Street to hold a proper reenactment after lunch. A few of the reenactors organized a “forced march” the Friday before, too, marching from Peru to Brownville following the Steamboat Trace Trail.
