Tyrone and America - Shared stories as the Ulster American Folk Park marks 50 years

AN exciting chapter of shared history is set to unfold in Tyrone as the West Tyrone Historical Society launches a special programme of events celebrating 50 years of the Ulster American Folk Park, while also looking ahead to a major global milestone - America’s 250th anniversary.

The celebrations begin tonight (Wednesday), January 28 at 8pm with an upbeat and insightful talk, ‘The Origins of the Ulster American Folk Park’, taking place in the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.

Delivered by Society president and former long-serving Folk Park staff member, John Gilmore, the talk will explore how the park came into being and why its story still resonates so strongly today.

Admission is free for members, with non-members welcome for £2.

Founded in 1976, the Ulster American Folk Park was built around the 1813 birthplace of Thomas Mellon in Castletown, County Tyrone.

Mellon’s journey - emigrating to America as a child and later becoming a lawyer, judge and founder of the Mellon Bank - mirrors the experience of tens of thousands of Ulster people who crossed the Atlantic in search of opportunity.

Over time, more than 30 original historic buildings from Ulster and North America were carefully reassembled on site, creating immersive streetscapes that chart life before emigration, the perilous sea voyage aboard a full-scale emigrant ship, and the challenges of building new lives in the “New World”.

For five decades, the Folk Park has been committed to telling the story of Ulster emigration from the 18th to early 20th centuries in all its complexity.

Visitors encounter stories of hardship and resilience, rural life and frontier ambition, alongside traditional crafts and everyday experiences.

Importantly, the museum continues to broaden its perspectives - reflecting Catholic and Protestant, Irish and Ulster-Scots experiences, and increasingly incorporating previously marginalised histories, including the global impact of migration on Indigenous Peoples and enslaved people of African descent.

The result is an inclusive, thought-provoking exploration of the past that promotes understanding, empathy and respect.

These stories feel especially timely as the United States prepares to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

People from this part of the world played a significant role in shaping the ideas and leadership that helped create the United States and inspired other nations in their own quests for independence.

The legacy of those connections lives on today - not only in the fabric of American society but also through powerful genealogical ties linking Ulster and the USA.

Seventeen to twenty US Presidents, including Andrew Jackson and Chester A. Arthur, can trace their ancestry to Ulster, alongside countless economists, industrialists, educators and creatives, past and present.

To commemorate America 250, visitors to Tyrone are encouraged to explore a rich network of heritage attractions that reveal the people and places that helped shape America.

The recommended starting point is the Ulster American Folk Park, where visitors can quite literally follow in the footsteps of emigrants - from rural Ulster beginnings to new lives across the Atlantic.

The anniversary year gets off to a lively start with ‘An Ode to Robert Burns” on Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25, from 10am to 4pm.

This festive weekend celebrates Scotland’s National Poet with haggis pie samples, poetry readings, and theatrical performances of 'Not So Serious Burns’ by Bready Ulster-Scots, featuring bagpipes, Highland dancers and even Robert Burns himself.

As the Ulster American Folk Park celebrates 50 years and looks ahead to America 250, one message stands out: the story of migration from Ulster to America is not just history - it is a living connection between two nations, and these are stories that continue to matter today.