Category: Tours

Patsy Cline House Ready for Visitors

Celebrating Patsy Cline is nearing the completion of its vision to open Patsy Cline’s home of South Kent Street as a house museum on Tuesday. The tour includes the living room, dining room, a bedroom, and kitchen. The docent-guided tours will take about 35 to 45 minutes. The home is furnished with authentic memorabilia and period pieces, reflecting Patsy Cline’s life from 1948 to 1957 when she called 608 South Kent Street home.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for a special ceremony on September 3 to commemorate the opening of the house, coinciding with the annual visit of the Always Patsy Cline Fan Club to Winchester.

For more information, call 540-662-5555 or visit celebratingpatsycline.org.

Hours through Oct. 31 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Cost is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors 65 and older, $4 for ages 11 to 18, and free for military and ages 10 and under.

Click here for the article in The Winchester Star (login required).

PHW’s 47th Annual Meeting

As we near the end of May – and with it National Preservation Month – PHW is closing out the month with a culmination in fun activities related to historic preservation.

First, have you completed your Architectural Treasure Hunt? You have until Friday, June 3 at 5 PM to drop your forms at PHW, either by email, snail-mail, or in person. Click here for the contest form (pdf). Reports from contest entrants are that you should allow yourself about three hours to stroll downtown looking at the buildings – and it’s fun!

Then, on June 5 at 3 PM is the Annual Business Meeting at the Hexagon House. PHW will be electing seven new board members, reviewing the past year, and presenting our yearly preservation awards. We are planning to hold the business meeting on the back lawn, so dress for the weather. (In case of rain, we will move indoors.)

Following the business portion of the meeting, you have two options for further entertainment. The outdoor option is the Italianate walking tour of Winchester, which will be previewed for the first time. At approximately 4 PM, tour groups will depart from the Hexagon House. Tour time is expected to last from one to one and a half hours and is approximately one mile in length. The suggested donation for the tour is $5 per person. It is open to the public. Click here for the walking tour post.

Indoors at the Hexagon House, PHW will host a light reception. For those unable to attend the full walking tour, there will be a display of the Winchester Italianate architecture on the walking tour. Look for the lime green papers around the Hexagon House for a self-guided tour of the building while you socialize indoors.

The Italianate Trend in Winchester

A Guided Walking Tour
June 5, 4 PM at the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst St.

Join Ashlee Anderson, student intern for Preservation of Historic Winchester, on a guided walking tour of Old Town Winchester highlighting Italianate structures for her capstone project.

minihexhouse The Italianate style is one of the best-represented architectural styles in Winchester, and this tour will show you the grand mansions, commercial properties, and modest homes, spanning high-end expressions to vernacular representations.

The tour will start following Preservation of Historic Winchester’s Annual Business Meeting at 3 PM. Expected departure time is 4 PM for the walking tour. Meet at the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst Street, Winchester. The tour is expected to last one to one and a half hours.

Suggested donation is $5 per person. Proceeds benefit Preservation of Historic Winchester.

For more information, contact Preservation of Historic Winchester at (540) 667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net

Guided Civil War Tours

Guided Civil War Walking Tours are now available on a regular basis, June through October, in Historic Old Town Winchester and the Historic Frederick County communities of Stephens City and Middletown. New this year is a guided walking tour of Kernstown Battlefield and a guided driving tour of Cedar Creek Battlefield.

The tours are a project of the Winchester-Frederick County Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and are coordinated by the Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“This is a great way for individuals, families, and groups to explore the culture and history of our area,” said Sally Coates, Executive Director of the Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Also to be considered is the fact that walking is a wonderful low-impact form of exercise,” she added. “The walking tours are fun, informative, and healthy.”

Most of the tours are designed to last about one hour.

Each experienced tour guide helps participants understand the Civil War from the civilian’s prospective. Featured are stirring stories of the townspeople, their homes and businesses.
Continue reading Guided Civil War Tours

Fort Loudoun Day & Rouss Day, May 21

As a reminder, Fort Loudoun Day and Rouss Day will be held Saturday, May 21, rain or shine.

Tours start at Fort Loudoun, 419 N. Loudoun St., at 10 am to 1 pm, with a ceremony at 12:30 pm. Visit frenchandindianwarfoundation.org for a complete schedule.

In the afternoon, partake of the Rouss Day events. Click here for the full event schedule. PHW will have a refreshment table at Rouss Fire Hall, 3 S. Braddock Street for the re-dedication event at 2-3 pm.

Also look for the following Old Jake items for sale at Rouss Fire Hall at a table manned by the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley:

OldJakePin Boxed Jake Cookie Cutter $5
Old Jake Lapel/Hat Pin $8
Old Jake Weathervane Ornament $24
Postcard .95
Old Jake Boxed Notecards $12
Green Ball Ornament $12

Click here to read the Rouss Day coverage by the Winchester Star (login required).

GIS Project Showcase

PHW’s intern Ashlee Anderson is one of the students presenting at the Gifted Independent Study Student Project Showcase, May 16, 6:30 PM at Sherando High School.

The event will highlight Miss Anderson’s work at PHW, in which she put together a walking tour of Italianate buildings in Winchester. She will lead the first tour for the public on June 5, following PHW’s Annual Meeting. Look for more information on the walking tour soon!

Click here to read more about the Showcase event.

Battle of Front Royal & Battle of Winchester

As part of the 149th Anniversary Program of the Civil War, the Warren County Committee of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission are sponsoring two programs in May, highlighting “Stonewall” Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign. The event focuses on the Battle of Front Royal and the Battle of Winchester.

Monday, May 23rd, 2011: Battle of Front Royal

Historical Overview: 12:00pm-1:00pm

Battlefield Tour: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011: Battle of Winchester

Historical Overview: 12:00pm-1:00pm

Battlefield Tour: 1:00pm-4:00pm

• Both programs begin at the Warren Heritage Society located at 101 Chester Street in Front Royal

• Tickets: $10 per tour

• Contact the Warren Heritage Society: (540) 636-0702 or the Warren Rifles Confederate Memorial Museum: (540) 636-6982 to reserve tickets

Rouss Day, May 21

Rouss Day returns on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Join in the celebration of one of Winchester’s most generous benefactors with a day full of activities.

Saturday, May 21st (rain or shine)
11:30am-2:30pm Lunch downtown (on your own)- Ask for restaurants featuring Rouss Day specials.

1:00pm-1:45pm Rouss City Hall, 15 N. Cameron St, 4th floor Exhibit Hall (former City Hall Auditorium), “25th Anniversary of Rouss City Hall Restoration” presentation by Tim Youmans. Brief guided tour of restored portions of Rouss City Hall to follow.

2:00pm-3:00pm Charley Rouss Fire Company, 3 S. Braddock St, Open House, including viewing of ‘Old Jake’ weathervane. (Includes Rededication & Fire Hall Band Music, light refreshments)

3:30pm-4:15pm Rouss Family Mausoleum open for viewing, Mt Hebron Cemetery, 305 E. Boscawen St- Mayor Minor and reps from Mt Hebron, Rouss Fire Company, WMC, and WFCHS invited for Wreath Laying

Also consider…
10am-5pm The Handley Library, 100 W. Piccadilly St- View Rouss items on display in Handley Archives show case (Exhibit runs during normal business hours).

9am-5pm Rouss Spring behind the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center at 1400 S. Pleasant Valley Rd. (Visitor Center is open 9am-5pm)

Read about Charles Broadway Rouss and his contributions to Winchester at the Winchester City website.

See images of the Old Jake Replica being installed at The Winchester Star.

Holiday House Tour 2010: Homes for the Holiday

HHT WreathPHW is pleased to announce the 34th annual Holiday House Tour, which will be held December 4 and 5 in the North Washington and Fairmont Avenue neighborhood.

The tour kicks off on Saturday with the Preview Party and Candlelight Tour from 6-9 p.m. The party will be held in the home of Mrs. Joseph Manuel, 303 Fairmont Avenue. The home will be open only for the Saturday event.

Four additional homes will be open for the Candlelight Tour. These homes will also open for the Daylight Tour on Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

  • Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rockwood, 101 North Washington Street
  • Mr. and Mrs. Rich Rizzetta, 209 North Washington Street
  • Mr. and Mrs. Richard Helm, 311 Fairmont Avenue
  • Rev. and Mrs. Dan McCoig, 35 West Piccadilly Street

The Bough & Dough Shop returns this year with a wide array of local talent providing baked goods, handcrafts, greenery and floral arrangements and much more! The Shop, located at the Centre Friends Meeting House, 201 N. Washington St., will be open on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tickets will be available after the 15th of November at the following locations:

More information on the houses and the tour will be released over the next week. Check back soon for more information!

Living Diaries at the Newtown History Center

The Newtown History Center will host “Living Diaries” for Civil War Weekend, September 18 and 19.  The event at the Newtown History Center, 5408 Main St in Stephens City, will be held Saturday, September 18 from 10 AM to 4 PM, and again on Sunday, September 19, from 1 PM to 5 PM. Weekend activities include a quilt raffle, Civil War era accessories for sale, a bake sale, lawn games and period toys, a nurse’s station and laundry demonstration, and Civil War period cooking and crafts.

The outdoor events feature free admission, while admission to the indoor museum will be $1 for children, $2 for adults, or $5 for a family. Quilt raffle tickets are $10 each. Call 540-869-1700 or visit the Newtown History Center to purchase tickets or for more information. Visit the Newtown History Center online at www.newtownhistorycenter.org.