Editor's pick: A stroll through history

Bethany joins Honesdale in historic house tour

WHEN: Saturday, June 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Locations throughout the historic district of Honesdale, PA and in Bethany, PA.

COST: $20.

CONTACT: 570/253-1220.

HONESDALE, PA — For aficionados of architecture, history and/or gardens, the Honesdale Historic House Tour provides a delightful annual treat. It allows the public to browse through the first floors and gardens of some of the magnificent Honesdale houses that, for most of the year, they must content themselves with peering at from the streets. This year it will expand to include several houses built in Bethany. The tour, run by the Friends of Wayne County Public Library (WCPL), is self guided, starting at the library at 1406 N. Main Street, where tour booklets with maps, photos and histories of the houses are provided. Adding to the period mood, members of Tops Hats and Lace in full Victorian dress will stroll the streets of Honesdale during the event.

In Honesdale, visitors will have the opportunity to view two houses new to the tour this year: the Noble-Lewis house, 419 14th Street, built in 1892, and the house at 1712 East Street. There will also be much-requested encore viewings of several houses: the William Stanton house at 1318 N. Main Street, the William Gaylord House at 1604 N. Main and the Joseph Bodie House at 1510 N. Main Street.

Bethany, about three miles north of Honesdale, looks like a quaint New England-style village with historic Colonial homes and picturesque churches clustered around a village green and band shell. This tour offers the public a chance to see inside these gems of Victorian and Colonial era architecture with walks through the first floors and also through their adjacent gardens.

The Bethany houses include the E. Kellogg (or “Roosa”) House, first built about 1815, the James Manning house and the Solomon Moore House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the birthplace of the famous American David Wilmot. Also included will be the Bethany Public Library, known as the “Fireproof,” built in 1823 when Bethany was the county seat of Wayne.

The ticket price includes a booklet containing historical and architectural information and photos of each house. Advance tickets are now on sale, and they may be purchased on the day of the tour at the WCPL at 1406 N. Main Street.