Vintage items crowded the grass of Center Park on the Fourth of July, as the Wareham Historical Society held its 46th annual antique fair. 

While vendors may not have had any Revolutionary War antiques, they did bring some fairly historic items. 

The oldest item at Dianne Freed’s booth was a noisemaker from the 19th century. Made of tin, it had a clapper at one end and a mouthpiece at the other. “I didn’t try it out,” said Freed, but it looked to be the kind of item that would gather people around a campfire back in the olden days. 

Freed has attended the Historical Society’s antique fair for around eight years, she said. “This is a nice little show, which makes it fun.” 

Don Barr, a vendor from Falmouth, also said he attends the festival every year. 

“I got some things that go back to the mid 1800s, and I’ve got some things that were maybe made yesterday,” he said. 

Barr’s specialty is antique glass and china, and the items out from display included a glass vase dating back to around 1850, a Depression-era piece of glasswork from the 1930s and a decorative bowl from the Victorian era. 

While Barr specialized in glass, Roger Clapp had a booth that overflowed with wooden boxes. 

Clapp sold a wooden trunk in the morning which dated back to the 1880s or the 1890s, he said; by noon, the oldest item left in his stall was a different trunk which dated to around 1920. He added he refinished most of the wooden pieces up for sale. 

His booth has “been in the same spot” at the Antique Fair for approximately 15 years, he said. 

The event served as a fundraiser for the Wareham Historical Society. 

“This day has been very successful,” said Historical Society President Angela Dunham. She thanked all of the volunteers who helped make the day a success. 

The day’s festivities were capped off by a noon-time volley from the Wareham Minutemen and Militia, fresh off an appearance at the Town of Marion Fourth of July parade. 

“We like to do it,” said minuteman Malcolm Phinney. “I don’t know who would do it if we didn’t do it.”

The fair was a hit among those who attended. 

“We come every year for this,” said Marion resident Jenna Dellipriscoli, whose newborn daughters Viviana and Caramia had just recently been released from the neonatal intensive care unit. 

Bill and Nancy Keyes got some bargains — and some “not-so-bargains” — at the fair, they said. 

It was their second time coming — though the two are acquirers of antiques, attending other area fairs and making finds along the side of the road.