Orange County Herb Day returns August 4 to support Hill-Hold Museums

Herb Day will bring Orange County back to Hill-Hold Museum on August 4 with a lecture, a three-course luncheon and a fundraiser built around the site’s colonial herb garden. Tickets are $60 per person, and advance registration and pre-payment are required by July 31.

The day will open at 10:00 a.m. with the lecture, “Withstanding the Test of Time: Colonial Era Herbs Still Used Today,” in the Graham Skea Lodge in Thomas Bull Memorial Park. From there, guests will move to the Hill-Hold front lawn for the luncheon, which will be catered by The Country Club at Otterkill.

The event is designed as more than a social gathering. Along with the meal, Herb Day will include a silent auction, a raffle for herb planters and door prizes, all aimed at raising money for the museums. The format turns local foodways and gardening into a hands-on way to experience Orange County history, with the herb garden and museum grounds serving as part of the lesson.

Hill-Hold Museum sits at 124 Route 416 in Campbell Hall and is part of a preservation complex that includes Brick House Museum. Orange County says the site is supported by The Friends of Hill-Hold and Brick House, Inc., a nonprofit devoted to preserving and promoting the county’s historic properties. Proceeds from Herb Day will benefit the museums, helping support upkeep, programming and educational work at a property that remains visible to the public through events like this.

Brick House Museum, built in 1768 by Nathaniel Hill, anchors that history. Orange County says seven generations of the Hill family occupied the house, and the museum preserves original Chippendale furnishings while keeping the setting of a lived-in historic estate. Hill-Hold’s 2026 season runs Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. from May 30 through August 30, with admission listed at $5 for adults, $3 for children and $4 for school students.

Herb Day’s staying power is part of the story, too. Orange County described the 2025 event as the 45th annual Herb Day Lecture and Luncheon, underscoring how the fundraiser has become a recurring summer tradition tied to preservation and public history. For Orange County, the day is a way to use gardening, lecture programming and a community meal to keep a colonial-era homestead active in the present.