This beloved community celebration takes place at John Roger Simon’s historic well-preserved 5th-generation French homestead on the banks of Pond Creek, framed by the farm’s 500-plus acres of forested Appalachian hills. The event is free to the public and features the making of sorghum syrup, heritage crafts demonstrations, southern food, and the jamming of musicians playing old-time music.

Celebrate Appalachian Folk Art & Music. Old-time musicians from around the region will once again wend their way to the festival to linger for just a few hours or stay the entire weekend. Music will erupt unpredictably from impromptu music circles, showcasing different kinds of traditional stringed instruments. Artisans will also gather at the farm to demonstrate rural heritage crafts, like corn husk dolls and wheat weavings, and rural life skills that persisted longer in Appalachia than the rest of the nation, such as spinning wool, quilting, and soap-making.

Come hungry! Hot dogs with Bea’s recipe of homemade meat sauce and chips, bean soup & cornbread, and sorghum-sweetened baked goods are once again on the menu and will be available for purchase throughout the event.

Tour the Historic Simon Farm Homestead. The legacy of the Simon family dates back to the middle 1800s when Jean Baptiste Narjoz migrated from France to this handsome hill-country Farm in Scioto County. His daughter married John Simon, who is the great-grandfather of the event’s founder, John Roger Simon. Jean and his daughter built the two-story farmhouse in 1864 - the same building that still stands on the site today. Virtually unaltered from its earliest years, the home sits among a number of historic barns and outbuildings — all built with lumber cut on a water-powered sawmill that the Simon family operated on Pond Creek.

One of the outbuildings on the property that will be open during the Festival is a museum of old farm implements – tools that were used by John’s family and his friends and neighbors in earlier times.

Enjoy a beautiful natural setting. The Sorghum Festival also honors the splendor of the Appalachian forests and landscapes that inspired the culture and lives of our nation’s Appalachian peoples. The Simon Farm protects hundreds of acres of mature white oak woodlands – a forest much older than those typically found in Ohio. Visitors to the farm are encouraged to tune in to the deep connection between nature and Appalachian culture throughout this event.

Family History. Jean Baptiste Narjoz, John’s great-great-grandfather, immigrated to the U.S. from Alaincourt, France in the mid-1800s and established for himself a simple one-room cabin on the banks of Pond Creek. Once he was secure, he sent letters back to his wife and six children, begging them to join him. Meanwhile, his wife was sending Jean letters too, begging him to return home. When the family realized Jean was determined to stay in the new country, they arranged for the oldest daughter, Mary Elise Narjoz, to join him to help him make a living on the land. Jean was never to see his wife or other children again.

Eventually, Jean’s daughter, Mary Elise Narjoz, married a local French man named John Francis Simon. In 1864, the household of three – Jean, Mary Elise & John – directed the construction of a two-story residence right behind Jean’s original cabin. Here Mary Elise and John raised their children, including August Simon, John’s grandfather.

The Narjoz/Simon household was enterprising and hard-working. They established a grist mill, using a millstone Jean brought from France to grind corn and wheat. That millstone can still be seen on the property today! Over the generations, the Simon descendants built a corn crib, barn, wheelbarrow factory, commercial sawmill, grist mill, and retail store on the farm.

August Simon raised his children in the same house as his father, John. One of his sons was Edward Lewis Simon, who married Clara Walsh. They had two children: John-Roger and his sister Kathleen. Clara’s father, John Walsh, ran a sawmill in nearby Otway that cut railroad ties.

John Simon’s Story. When John was a teenager, he worked in the family sawmill, but his passion was music. He loved listening to his mother play the piano, and when he was young, she encouraged him to pick up a musical instrument of his own to play. He chose the five-string banjo and excelled playing it. Eventually, John learned to play all the stringed instruments used in traditional music, including fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and dulcimer.

John earned a Ph.D. in music, became an educator, and eventually taught classes at Shawnee State University on Country and Appalachian music, Appalachian religious traditions, Appalachian sociology, and more. John wanted his students to gain an understanding and appreciation of the richness of Appalachian culture. Toward this purpose, he organized field trips deep into Appalachian America so that students could have meaningful first-hand encounters.

In 2008, he wrote a book about Cowboy Copas, a local singer, and the golden age of country music. In 2014, he co-authored a book with Cleda Slye Willoughby, called “My Brother, Roy” about another Portsmouth area native, Roy Rogers.

Sorghum Production. Sorghum production began on the farm in 1982 when John bought the evaporator pan and press from an aging producer, Elbert Hackworth, who lived just down the road from the farm. Elbert was an important mentor to John throughout the years. It is thanks to Elbert’s tutelage that the Sorghum Festival was founded and that today sorghum syrup-making is a legacy that can continues to be passed down.

Making sorghum on the farm has always been a community affair, with friends and neighbors helping with every step of the process, from cutting cane in the field to pouring off the final product. Roles and responsibilities include planting the sorghum, helping with the harvest, running the cane press, skimming the boiling sap on the evaporator pan, adding wood to keep the fire hot, (but not too hot), and finally bottling the finished syrup when John confirms it is “just right.”

John Roger Simon has spent his entire life building pride in Appalachian culture, and the nonprofit Arc of Appalachia is proud to continue the legacy of his work under John’s mentorship. Simon, now 87, says “Sorghum-making is a sensory experience, especially for our younger visitors. The smell of sweet sorghum steam rolling off the evaporator pan is a memory children will never, never forget.”

Sorghum is a sturdy grass that is cultivated around the world as an important food crop. A staple in the Appalachian diet since the mid-1800’s, it is planted in early spring and its robust canes are harvested in the fall. The canes are pressed and the juice produced is cooked until it thickens into a natural sweetener with many culinary applications. Only 10 gallons of the sweet juice are needed to produce 1 gallon of syrup. During the festival, you can watch the process from start to finish and purchase fresh sorghum syrup to take home with you as supplies last.

Founded in 1995, the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System is a non-profit organization dedicated to wildlands preservation. Our work includes acquiring and stewarding wildlands in the Ohio region; creating sanctuaries where people can connect with the natural world; teaching about our forest heritage to inspire a global conservation ethic; and honoring, in our work and our teachings, our Native American legacies. Since our inception we have raised over $22 million for wildlands preservation – today protecting and managing over 10,000 acres of nature preserves in 28 preserve regions in Appalachian Ohio.

Address for GPS: 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road, Portsmouth, OH 45663

Directions heading North from Portsmouth or south out of Chillicothe: From OH-104, turn west on OH-73. Drive 2.8 miles on OH-73, past Taylor Lumber. Turn left on Careys Run/Pond Creek Road. Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s meeting hall will be on the far left hand corner. Follow Careys Run/Pond Creek Road for a little over a mile. The historic homestead at 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road will be on your right – easily identified by the Sorghum-making mural on the side of the barn painted by Robert Dafford.The farm’s fields and wooded hills can be seen on both sides of the road. Parking is on the left, across from the homestead and Pond Creek propert.

Directions from OH-41: Turn east on OH-73 off of OH-41 at Locust Grove. Follow OH-73 east for 25 miles. Turn right on Careys Run/Pond Creek Road. Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s meeting hall will be on the right near corner on your right. Follow Careys Run/Pond Creek Road for a little over a mile. The historic homestead at 8721 Careys Run Pond Creek Road will be on your right – easily identified by the Sorghum-making mural on the side of the barn. The fields and wooded hills of the property can be seen on both sides of the road. Parking is in the field on your left, directly across from the farmstead and Pond Creek.