The Buck brothers, Nick and Rinker, and their Jack Russell terrier set out from St. Joseph, Mo., in a mule-drawn covered wagon in May 2012. They followed the often-challenging miles of the Oregon Trail, and four months later, on Sept. 6, exhausted, they reached Baker City, Ore.

Nick Buck, who lives in Newcastle, will make two special appearances at the Freeport Historical Society’s 41st annual Pettengill Farm Day on Sunday, Oct. 2., to present a slide show and talk about the trip. He will speak at noon and 1 p.m.

“We covered 2,000 miles, it took four months and we had 80 campsites. It was like a four-month farm tour,” he said.

The hardest part was getting accustomed early on to the physical challenge of the trip. The Bucks walked for the most part, covering an average of 25 miles a day.

“The best part was spending the summer driving a team of mules 2,000 miles, from the Missouri River to Oregon,” he said. “We carried 100 gallons of water, and three 1,000-pound mules drain that quickly.”

Buck has a fondness for both horses and wagons; he owns three horses and 10 wagons and gives wintertime sleigh rides at ski resorts. His talks will be sponsored by Skyline Farm in North Yarmouth, which will bring some of its many carriages to Pettengill Farm Day.

Buck, 59, has been driving carriages most of his life, he said. In addition to talking about his Oregon Trail trip, Buck will also talk about farming in the old days.

“I’m just going to shoot from the hip is what I’m going to do. I’m just going to talk about how farm life used to be. I’ll take note of my surroundings, and talk about them. I’m sure they had a root cellar, and probably slaughtered animals on the property. I’ll talk about the home.”

Buck, a carpenter, joined the Coast Guard at the age of 17, was a lighthouse keeper on an island and spent a total of 10 years at sea, fishing in Alaska and elsewhere. For 30 years, he has been active in community theater.

He grew up in pre-Revolutionary War farm in New Jersey.

“George Washington camped over a ridge from there in 1775,” Buck said. “He said the best bread he ever ate came from an oven in my house.”

Other attractions at Pettentgill Farm Day include dog agility events, cider pressing, a scarecrow contest, pumpkin painting and haywagon rides.

Jim Cram, executive director of the Freeport Historical Society, credited groundskeeper Mike Cyr for all the work he has put in to have the grounds up to snuff for the event.

“We’ve made an effort to get different types of events,” Cram said. “We’ve got wandering minstrels playing all day playing accordions of all size and shape, and we always give a tour of the house.”

Tethered ballon rides will also be offered, from 9-11 a.m.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to see the upper stretches of the Harraseeket River? And you can also see town, too,” he said.

Events will run from 10- a.m.-2 p.m. The suggested donations is $5 and $2 for children. There will be an added charge for food. The farm is located at 31 Pettengill Road.

All sorts of activity is on the agenda for Pettengill Farm Day, set for Saturday, Oct. 1.

Nick Buck of Newcastle drives mule hauling a covered wagon on his 2012 Oregon Trail trip. Buck will talk about the trip, horses, carriages and more during Pettengill Farm Day on Oct. 1.

A closer look

Pettengill Farm Day will be held Sunday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The suggested donations is $5 and $2 for children. There will be an added charge for food.

The Freeport Historical Society owns and has preserved Pettengill Farm, a saltwater farm built around 1800 on an estuary of the Harraseeket River. The salt box farmhouse, never equipped with electricity or plumbing, last was occupied by Mildred Pettengill in 1970, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The house is surrounded by 140 acres of fields, woods, antique apple orchards and salt marsh. Inside are etchings, called “sgraffiti,” on the plaster walls depicting the upper chambers of ships, sea monsters, longboats and animals.