 Ulster-American Folk Park
Castletown, Omagh,
Co. Tyrone BT78 5QY
Tel: 028 8224 3292
Omagh's most popular visitor attraction is the
Ulster-American Folk Park on the A5 three miles north of Omagh. This
outstanding museum tells the story of the great waves
of emigration from Ulster during the 18th and 19th centuries and how those
reluctant travellers fared across the Atlantic. In the
Old World area of the Park stand some fascinating restored buildings thatched craftsmen's cottages, a forge, schoolhouse and Presbyterian
meeting house. Peat fires still burn in the cottages and there are regular demonstrations of old skills such
as candle-making, fish-salting and horse-shoeing. There's also an indoor exhibit re-creating an
Ulster main street as it would have appeared around 1900.
The New World section displays log houses, a Pennsylvania farmstead, a covered wagon and a
full scale replica of an emigrant ship. Disney and others have given theme parks a bad name but
the exhibits at the Ulster-American Folk Park have a satisfying stamp of authenticity. The Park was
endowed by a generous grant from the Mellon banking family who founded Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Their ancestor, Thomas Mellon, was born at the village of Camphill near Omagh and emigrated to
America in 1818. His family homestead at Camphill is one of the more substantial of the cottages
re-located here. The Park is open all year round and has a gift shop, café and a major reference and
research library containing a wealth of material such as emigrants' letters, ships' passenger lists and
newspaper articles of the time.
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