Westport's 30th annual holiday house tour and soiree Dec. 3 & 4

This year marks the 30th Anniversary Holiday House Tour which has become a highly anticipated December tradition for many visitors and residents alike.  This year's holiday house tour is taking place on December 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature six historic houses all built before 1850, in addition to the Adams Academy, Westport's first school.  All the homes and the school will be festooned with festive seasonal décor.

To recognize this special 30th anniversary, each home was carefully selected for its architectural merit and interesting stories. Each house has been preserved to retain its period style facing the street, while the backs have been " blown out" to create kitchens and living spaces that modern families require. Careful attention has also been paid to preserving and recreating authentic dry stack stonewalls.

Some highlights include:

• A major museum-quality restoration of a c. 1760 house in the Kings Highway North Historic District. Its owner will provide fascinating insights into its history and the restoration process.

• A house noted for its seven hearths all of which will be ablaze on the tour day and features a mystery mural in the stairway.

• The former residence of H. Daniel Webster who designed the Minuteman Monument at Compo; an expanded renovation that includes a tavern room;

• The circa 1700 John Platt House documented as one of the oldest houses in Westport

• The Adams Academy, Westport’s one-room schoolhouse.

• A home featured on this tour 25 years ago that is proposed to be part of the newly designated National Register Historic District on Bridge Street. Let's see if anyone recalls it from that tour!

The Soiree will be held at the beautiful Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum, in Norwalk on Saturday, December 3,  from 6 pm -9 pm. On view will be six beautiful homes on the house tour plus the Adams Academy, Westport's first one- room schoolhouse! 

For ticket information visit http://westporthistory.org. To sign up for our monthly newsletter go to www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com