Old Falls Village Steps Back to 1776

Old Falls Village in Menomonee Falls will open its 2026 season by turning its historic park into a Revolutionary War encampment on May 2 and 3. (menomoneefalls.gov) The village’s public calendar says Revolutionary War Days will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, at N96W15791 County Line Road. Parking is free, and organizers say admission supports Old Falls Village Park. (menomoneefalls.gov) Friends of Old Falls Village says visitors will see battles twice daily, weapon demonstrations, military vendors, music, food, a beer garden, and army encampments where reenactors explain life in early America. A school-day program is also scheduled for May 1 from 9 a.m. to noon. (oldfallsvillagepark.org, wi-menomoneefalls2.civicplus.com) The event lands during the run-up to the United States semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in 1776. Menomonee Falls is framing the weekend as part of a local “250th Anniversary of America Celebration.” (menomoneefalls.gov, wi-menomoneefalls2.civicplus.com) Old Falls Village usually interprets a later period of local history, with the Menomonee Falls Historical Society describing the site as a living-history museum focused on the mid-1800s to early 1900s. The Revolutionary War weekend pushes the timeline back roughly a century for a special event. (oldfallsvillage.com, menomoneefalls.gov) The park itself is a sizable heritage site, with Friends of Old Falls Village listing 18.8 acres, eight historic buildings, a public house, a stage, a pavilion, and wooded grounds at the corner of Pilgrim Road and County Line Road. That layout gives reenactors room for encampments, demonstrations, and school programming. (oldfallsvillagepark.org) The same event calendar shows Old Falls Village using reenactments as a regular draw, with World War II Days in June, a 1960s and Vietnam War program in August, and a World War I reenactment in October. Revolutionary War Days is the first of those large-format history weekends on the 2026 schedule. (oldfallsvillage.com, happeningnext.com) For Menomonee Falls, the early-May weekend is both a history lesson and the start of the park’s event season, with organizers asking visitors to arrive early for the battle demonstrations and spend the day inside the encampment. (oldfallsvillagepark.org)