Chester County Day 2013, my photo.
The 76Th Annual Chester County Chester County Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 1, 2016
The longest running house tour in the United States, Chester County Day is gearing up for its 2016 event, on Saturday, October 1. This Chester County-based event, which benefits Chester County Hospital, offers tours of historic homes, some brand new innovative ones, as well as beautiful gardens and public sites.
The 76-year-old tour was exclusive to West Chester Borough for many years but has since extended to the four quadrants of Chester County with different sections highlighted every four years. This year, attendees will be able to tour 21 homes and 14 public structures or sites in the southwest quadrant encompassing Birmingham, Unionville, East Bradford, West Bradford, Kennett Square, Pocopson, Pennsbury and East Marlborough townships, as well as Kennett Borough.
The Day will begin with the pageantry and excitement of a customary fox hunt, a Chester County Day tradition. Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, just outside Unionville on Rt. 82, will set off promptly at 9 am.
Tour guests can begin this year’s house tour at 10:00 am at the location of their choice. Guests are encouraged to tour as many homes as possible at their own pace. Some of the routes and highlighted homes begin on Sconnelltown Road.
Sconnelltown Road has three stops, one of which is exclusively for VIP ticket holders. Participants with these passes will be provided a gourmet box lunch and a private tour of this home. There will be a shuttle bus on Rt. 322 that will transport guests to a magnificent estate on West Strasburg Road. From there, ticket holders can continue out through East Bradford Township into Birmingham Township to the famous Marley and Me house where the movie of the same name was filmed.
Traverse beautiful country roads to West Bradford Township with homes open on North Wawaset Road and then proceed into Marshallton Village which will be open for a walking tour of three private homes and many historic landmarks. The village also boasts one of the two lunch stops for guests at the Marshalton Inn.
Northbrook Road will lead guests to Historic Trimbleville where they can view a new historic marker that commemorates the village. A short drive from there takes participants to Marlborough Village in East Marlborough Township where a small walking tour will be held.
The second lunch stop will be held at Galer Estate Winery on Folly Hill Road, where tours and tastings will be available. After lunch, don’t miss a visit to Barnard’s Orchards and a stop at a large estate just outside Unionville.
Route 82 will bring day travelers to the borough of Kennett Square. Several homes here are included in a walking tour in the northern section of town.
No matter how the house visits are organized, the day will be filled with Chester County architecture and history hundreds of years in the making.
This is truly one of my favorite fall events and it reminds me of my father because he loved this tour and went every year for decades. This tour IS Chester County, and when practically every month we are faced with the news that wanton development is marching through Chester County at an accelerated place (including in areas like Marshalton and Embreeville) , if you love the history and beauty here, you will love this house tour if you have never been and make it an annual event after going once!
Chester County Day ™ — A Chester County Tradition
Regular tickets are $40 each and Be a VIP for $100 each!
Make your “Day” extra special with a VIP ticket. Your $100 VIP donation gives you exclusive benefits. Enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres at the private preview lecture. Your VIP ticket also includes your pass to see the homes on this year’s tour and an exclusive tour of the home of John and Paul Robbins, a classic stone manor home built in 1917 which was design by prominent Philadelphia architect, Charles Barton Keen, with a complimentary lunch prepared by Montesano Bros. Italian Market & Catering. For more information or to purchase a VIP ticket, please email Kate.Pergolini@uphs.upenn.edu.