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Holiday Tour of Homes Features Historic and Modern Homes in a Lovely, Rural Setting

(11/9) In the lovely rural valley of Liberty Township, Adams County, Pa., just north of Emmitsburg, Md., several historic and modern homes will be decked out in seasonal finery on Sunday, Dec. 11, from noon to 5 p.m. English afternoon tea will also be available.

Among the homes and buildings on tour will be:

  • A circa 1930 stone mansion constructed by business tycoon C. A. Wills and visited by notables such as Mamie Eisenhower. This spacious stone home features seven bedrooms, a formal dining room, separate his and hers libraries and a beautiful entrance hall with a sweeping staircase.
     
  • A modern Colonial home with one of the best views of the valley. Visitors will enjoy seeing the owners’ large collection of Americana.
     
  • Windborne Farm, a 175-acre working sheep farm and cut-your-own flower garden. Originally the home of Abraham Krise in the early 1800s, the Pennsylvania German stone farmhouse was reconstructed in 1989 by the Ruppert family using the original stones and floor plan.
     
  • The "straw house," a newly built post and beam home along Tom’s Creek that is truly a work of art. The walls are completely built of tightly packed locally grown straw covered with local clay plaster. Relief designs have been randomly placed in the plaster and there are "truth windows" revealing the straw construction.
     Grace Bible Church. This building was originally a one-room schoolhouse. Graduates of the school will be available to recount their school day experiences.
     
  • The Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association will feature displays of airplanes, gliders and ultralights at their site on Pecher Road. Depending on the weather, the association may offer soaring plane rides.
     
  • English afternoon tea will be served between 1 and 5 p.m. for $5 per person at the Pecher Farm, a circa 1800 stone farmhouse that has been lovingly renovated and extended to provide comfortable 21st century living. Particularly attractive are the large stone fireplaces and traditional wide board floors.

Tickets for the Dec. 11 Holiday Tour of Homes are $15 each or two for $25. Tickets will be on sale at the homes on the day of the tour, or may be purchased in advance at Errands Plus Copy Center in Emmitsburg, Md.; Gallery 30, Blue Parrot Bistro and Yellow Canary Market in Gettysburg, Pa.; Fairfield Barber Shop in Fairfield, Pa.; or by calling 717-642-5436 or -5718.

Proceeds benefit the Save Our Liberty legal fund. Save Our Liberty is a grassroots citizens group working toward responsible development in southern Adams County, Pa. The legal fund supports legal counsel and expert witnesses on behalf of community citizens.

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