treasures of the reserve
By Jeff Sypeck
SLAVERY, LIBERTY, AND DEEDS OF REMEMBRANCE
Historian Tony Cohen previews a year of reflection and celebration at Button Farm
On a late summer morning at Button Farm, the squawking of cottonpatch geese breaks the silence as a cool breeze brings gentle hints of autumn. Rarely seen sitting still, farm director Tony Cohen leans back in a rocking chair on the porch of his 19th-century house— but only because he’ s already reviewing the ambitious projects he and his colleagues are planning for 2026.
“ Next year is the 250th anniversary of both the nation and Montgomery County,” Cohen notes.“ We’ re looking at really interesting building projects and community events, and the form those programs take will be shaped by the new historical research we’ re doing along the way.”
Since 2004, Cohen’ s nonprofit Menare Foundation has overseen Button Farm Living History Center, 40 acres within Seneca Creek State Park that immerse visitors in 1850s farm life. Like other living-history farms, Button Farm cultivates rare heritage breed livestock and crops, educates the public about agricultural history, and sells its produce locally. This year, the farm’ s restored barn gained a blacksmithin-residence, and a loom house and pottery shed are also in the works.
At the same time, visitors to Button Farm will quickly see that the site stands apart from other living-history farms for its unique emphasis on the history of slavery, a subject Cohen has pursued for most of his adult life. In 1996, he drew national media attention when he combined research, historical reenactment, and activism by setting off on foot to follow the Underground Railroad route from Maryland to Canada. The arduous journey took nearly seven weeks, but in some ways his walk never really ended, as his work as a historian became even more focused on understanding the experiences of enslaved people and appreciating their full humanity.
To that end, while he and his colleagues use 2026 as an opportunity to learn more about Button Farm and the neighboring Ag Reserve during the Revolutionary era, they hope to break ground next year on a project designed to provoke significant reflection about the private experiences of those who suffered under slavery.
“ We know that a slave quarter sat in this park until 1984,” says Cohen, who believes that some of the original materials may still be on site, waiting for archaeologists to find them.“ We’ ll use all the
information we have to rebuild and re-create the structure as an interactive exhibit depicting the lives of enslaved people between sundown and sun-up and on weekends, specifically when they were not working for others. It will be a handson, touch-everything experience with a focus on people who would have lived within ten miles of this farm. Under the circumstances, how did these families survive and thrive? It’ s a hard subject, but the exhibit will provide real insight into that question.”
Button Farm welcomes school groups, summer camps, teachers, and all who are eager to learn more about farming, African American history, and sustainability through a series of thoughtfully designed, hands-on experiences.
38 plenty I autumn harvest 2025