LAST WEEKEND FOR CANDLE LIGHT TOURS!
Come enjoy our Christmas Candle Light Tours before our doors close for the winter!
Saturday, December 17th, 2011: That's right, winter is here and this is the final weekend for Nemacolin Castle's popular Candle Light Tours, where everyone gets to experience Christmas as it was celebrated back in the 1700's. After the last tour this Sunday, December 18th, the doors to the castle will close until next Easter, when we celebrate the Easter Egg Hunt. So make your plans now and get out here pronto!
Christmas Tours run Fri. evenings from 5:00 thru 9:00 pm, and Sat. & Sun. from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Reservations are not necessary, but would be nice for large groups. Call 724-785-6882. Tour rates are $8.00 for adults/$4.00 for children 12 and under.
Nemacolin Castle Christmas Tours reveal in great detail what it was like to celebrate one of the community's holiest holidays with the approach of harsh Eighteenth Century winter winds lapping at your doorstep. Want a video preview? Check out the video WQED shot about our tours a few years back by clicking here. (P.S. The woman in the video giving the tour, Nancy Franks, still volunteers at the castle and might give you your tour this Christmas Season) Take pictures of our beautifully decorated rooms, each one prepared by a member of the Nemacolin Castle volunteer corps. Money raised through this event goes to the continuing restoration and maintenance of the castle (check out the new exterior paint job on the south end of the building and portico over the castle entrance). Tour Rates are $8.00 for adults/$4.00 for children twelve and under.
After your Christmas Castle tour, make sure you complete your Brownsville Landmark trip with a hearty meal at the Thompson House Restaurant & Tavern, located just five minutes from the castle on Water St. in Brownsville's South Side district. Quality dining in a colonial atmosphere, the perfect way to complete your day. Visit their website here.
Do you have a special event coming up such as a wedding (check out our pictures of the Gadish wedding on castle grounds), large family gathering or other photo opportunity where the historic backdrop of Nemacolin Castle might serve to enhance the celebration. For instance, a graduation photo session on the spacious castle lawns combined with a picnic and tours of the registered landmark's interior, transforming a normally a long, grueling day into a fun filled family afternoon. Or perhaps the castle's gazebo can serve as center stage for a meeting of your public service organization. Contact Nemacolin Castle's tour coordinator at 724-785-6882 to make arrangements and discuss available dates and fees, should any apply. Permission for events held on castle grounds must be secured and approved by the Historical Society in advance (at least a week, two or more weeks for complicated projects, such as concerts).
The Brownsville Historical Society operates historic Nemacolin Castle at 136 Front St. in Brownsville, Pa. Come visit us! Take a tour. Shop the gift shop. Step back in time to America's frontier period. Located just off U.S. Route 40 (locally called Market St.) in Brownsville, PA, Nemacolin Castle is also a registered Pennsylvania historic landmark. Tours of the castle interior and its spacious grounds are provided by enthusiastic groups of volunteers throughout the year (see schedule page).
Brownsville, PA has the distinct honor of listing two of its districts in the National Register of Historic Places: the downtown Brownsville Historic District and Brownsville's Northside Historic District. These areas includes 315 unique structures inside a two square mile area. Within this boundary, four sites have National Register of Historic Places registration: Nemacolin Castle, the Historic Church of St. Peters, the Dunlap Creek Bridge, and the Intercounty Bridge.
The castle is always looking for volunteers (both young and old) interested in preserving Brownsville's living history. If you would like to join this elite group who are the caretakers of your past, become a member of the Brownsville Historical Society. Fill out an application today.
