59th Annual Litchfield House Tour To Be Held Saturday, July 8

LITCHFIELD — 59th Annual Open House Day Tour of Litchfield to benefit Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) will be held Saturday, July 8, from 10 to 5 pm, rain or shine. Conducted by The Litchfield Aid of CJR, a volunteer organization, the 2006 tour will feature six private properties in the center of Litchfield and additional historic points of interest.

A preview tour will be offered on Friday, July 7, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, and will be followed by a cocktail reception from 7 to 9:30 pm at a private farm in Litchfield. Tickets are $75 per person and attendance is limited.

One of the oldest house tours in the country, the self-guided event on Saturday will begin at the information booth on the Litchfield Town Green at the intersection of Routes 202 and 63. Tickets and information will be available there.

The six properties that will be featured this year includes The George C. Woodruf House, a Colonial Revival home constructed in 1829; 35 South Street, the 1820 Phineas Miner, Esq, office and Bronson family store, a building typical of the Greek Revival structures built in Litchfield center in the 1820s and 1830s; Heyday House, a 100-year-old cottage, now enlarged; The Peacocke House, a gracious Victorian home, built in 1868; Lane’s End, a shingle-style Victorian cottage with a hipped gable roof and an intriguing history; and The Frederick Barnard House, a 4,900-square-foot Colonial Revival house that was built in 1880.

Arethusa Farm, a breeding farm for internationally known Jersey and Holstein dairy show cows, will be the site of the preview party. Established in 1999, Arethusa Farm was named for the native rose-purple dragon’s mouth orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, which grew abundantly in the bogs of the property. The farm will not be part of the July 8 open tour.

Other points of interest on the tour will include The Oliver Wolcott Library, local churches, and Lourdes of Litchfield, a shrine built in 1954 by the Montfort Missionaries as a replica of the famous Grotto Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

An exhibition, “A Celebration of Quilts,” will be featured at First Congregational Church of Litchfield. The quilts exhibited, like the houses on the tour, will vary in age and size, with pieces from the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries represented.

Litchfield History Museum and The Tapping Reeve Law School, recognized as the first law school in America, will also be included of the tour. The museum will feature an exhibition, “The Tale of the Horse: Spinning Litchfield’s Revolutionary Stories,” which explores Litchfield’s role in the Revolutionary War and how it is remembered through artifacts, documents and activities.

Visitors may enjoy lunch at Connecticut Junior Republic for $6 from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Students will provide tours of CJR’s rural campus, and student artwork will be exhibited and sold.

Tickets will be sold the day of the tour, on the green, $30 each for adults and children (infants free).

Advance tickets are $25 each and are nonrefundable. To order, contact The Litchfield Aid of CJR, PO Box 214, Litchfield CT 06759. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with a money order or check made payable to Litchfield Aid of CJR.

To pay by credit card, specify type of card (only Visa or MasterCard accepted), card number, expiration date, name on credit card, billing address and signature. Ticket orders must be received no later than Friday, June 30. Requests received after June 30 will be held for pick-up on the day of the tour at the ticket booth on the green.

A special group rate of $20 per person is offered for groups that reserve a minimum of 20 tickets by June 30.

Tickets for both the Saturday tour and the Friday preview tour and party may also be purchased online at LitchfieldCT.com/CJR/Tour.html.

For general information about the tour or advance tickets, contact CJR at 860-567-9423 between 9 am and 4:30 pm.