The Governor Wolf Historical Society will open six private historic homes and four early buildings for the 38th Annual Christmas House Tour on Saturday, December 1. The homes will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “Keep a Candle in the Window,” a German custom that welcomed travelers. The Home News will feature one of the homes each week until tour day.
This week’s historic home is at the western edge of the Borough of Bath. The home is red brick, built in the Craftsman style in 1928. Craftsman houses were inspired primarily by the Greene brothers who built homes in California from 1893 to 1914. The style quickly spread throughout the country by pattern books and popular magazines. The home features the characteristic full-width front porch, large centered dormer, and braces under the gables. Inside there is the original staircase, stained glass and brick fireplace in the living room. Wonderful collections of motion lamps, banks, soft-paste china, and agateware will delight you against a backdrop of Christmas music on a vintage Victrola.
On the same day, the Annual Historic Christmas Family Day will fill the campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum hosts an exhibit of early lighting with expert Wayne Lauciusto. Historic craftsmen will demonstrate, the 153 Civil War Coddington Reenactors will be encamped. Taste and watch hearth cooking, spinning and weaving, iron crafts, early powder horns and flintlocks, and more. Pony rides, arts and crafts for children. Make this a yearly family destination. No parking or admission fee. A free-will donation may be dropped into our “Preservation Jars,” if you wish. The Daily Grind in The Schoolhouse Café will offer food to take with you on the tour, or to enjoy there. There will also be quality crafters selling their wares and fresh greens for sale. In addition to selling fresh wreaths and swags this year the historical society will be holding a Fresh Wreath Making Class- Monday, November 26, 9 a.m. to noon. Complete a large fresh wreath with a bow of your choice for $25. Sign-up by calling 610-837-7078 and leaving a message, or while visiting the campus.
Ticket books are available- $25 advance and $30 day of tour. Booklets will be sold at S Seem Antiques in Bath, Miller Ace Hardware on RT 329, Curt’s Cyclery in Nazareth and Bath Drug on RT 512.
