Pattye Benson

Community Matters

11th Annual Historic House Tour

11th Annual Historic House Tour a Success!

Deilwydd rs

Deilwydd, c.1915

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust’s 11th Annual Historic House Tour a success! On Saturday, September 19, eight private homes historic homes and gardens, dating from the Revolutionary War era to the 20th century, opened their doors to the public. Over 500 tickets were purchased for the house tour — the Trust’s annual fundraising event, which raised almost $30,000 for the Living Historic Center in Chesterbrook.

The 2015 house tour featured a select group of remarkable historic homes in Tredyffrin, Easttown and Willistown Townships. Volunteer docents were placed throughout the homes to discuss aspects of the architecture, historic preservation, restoration and creative modern interpretation for 21st century living. Old friends spent the day together and new friendships were forged – all while stepping back in time and learning about the rich history of the community and the families who had lived in these houses.

The Trust is deeply grateful to the owners of the historic homes featured on the 2015 tour. They not only allowed visitors to come in their homes – they enriched the experience by sharing information and stories about the historic structures. What a truly delightful group of old house owners on this year’s tour – the effort and time spent on details by each homeowner was remarkable. Historic house-owners are very special people, and our house tour participants were no exception. In addition to the private homes on the tour, visitors enjoyed a stop at the Diamond Rock Schoolhouse, an octagonal one-room school house dating to the early 1800’s.

The event is a community event and would not be possible without our generous sponsors, the support of our volunteers and especially without those who so graciously opened up their historic homes to the public.

The 11th Annual Historic House Tour sponsor list:

11th Annual Historic House Tour sponsors list final

“If walls could talk, what stories they could tell!” — Historic House Tour tickets available

The 11th Annual Historic House Tour (hard to believe that it’s been 11 years!) is coming up in a few weeks and final preparations are in full swing!

Tickets for the 2015 house tour on Saturday, September 19, noon – 5 PM and Jazz & Just Desserts, the house tour preview party, on Sunday, September. 13, 6-9 PM at Duportail House are available online at www.tredyffrinhistory.org . The house tour is the largest annual fundraiser for Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust and all proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships support historic preservation and the completion of the Living History Center at Duportail.

The 11th Annual Historic House Tour features an interesting mix of eight private historic homes in Tredyffrin, Easttown and Willistown Townships plus the Diamond Rock Schoolhouse, an octagonal one-room school house in the Great Valley. Discover the beauty of historic preservation on the tour, everything from a mid-1800’s French Normandy hunting lodge on Valley Forge Mountain to Deepdale, the original 19th century stone farmhouse and the 1915 English Cotswold revival estate, ‘Deilwydd’. Enjoy stops at two different 150-year old carriage houses and marvel at how the owners skillfully adapted the buildings to 21st century family homes.

Also included on the tour is a sprawling 1900’s brick farmhouse in Malvern built by sisters, Ellen and Rebecca Winsor. Pro-suffrage activists from Haverford, the Winsor sisters were among 17 Pennsylvania women imprisoned for their “Silent Sentinel” picketing of the White House under President Woodrow Wilson.

We are still accepting sponsorships for the house tour, which helps to make the annual event possible. Ticket and sponsorship information is on the Trust website or you can email me at info@tredyffrinhistory.org.

It’s great to see many individuals and companies supporting historic preservation through the house tour, along with a number of elected officials and candidates. Its history and the preservation of our historic buildings helps to make this community special!

As the saying goes, “If walls could talk what stories they could tell.” Each featured property on the house tour has generations of original stories to tell! Hope to see you on the tour!

11th Annual Historic House Tour Poster

 

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