79th annual Chester County Day set Oct. 5

The 2019 Chester County Day, the longest running historic home tour in the country, will take place Oct. 5.

WEST CHESTER >> The 2019 Chester County Day, the longest running historic home tour in the country, will take place Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A project of the 126-yearold Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital, “The Day,” as it is affectionately called, has raised more than $5 million for the hospital.

The 2018 tour alone earned $135,000. Proceeds from this year’s tour will benefit the Women’s Auxiliary’s “Heart to Heart” pledge which will provide funding for the expansion of the arrhythmia treatment program at Chester County Hospital.

This year the Day, sponsored by among others Otto’s BMW, The Quaker City Foundation and the medical staff at Chester County Hospital, includes a tour of homes and public structures/historic sites in the southeast quadrant, including Westtown, Glen Mills, Willistown, Malvern and Berwyn.

Every Chester County Day begins with a fox hunt. The 2019 event will be held at Radnor Hunt in Malvern, complete with hounds, horses and horns, and will set off promptly at 9 a.m. Guests can begin their tour of this year’s selected properties at 10 a.m.

The 2019 Day celebrates the traditional, distinctive architecture of Chester County with a strong emphasis on history. There is a beautifully restored 1723 home in Glen Mills, built by the Hoopes family who first settled in this area in 1697. The family lived in the original, much-smaller structure with their 17 children. Yes, 17! Since then, the house has been renovated inside while keeping its history and distinctive architectural features intact. Also in Glen Mills, the Day will feature the 4,600 square foot stone Squire Cheyney house, which has Revolutionary War history ties. Completely restored in 2014, the house and barn maintain their traditional stone exteriors with all the modern amenities for today’s lifestyle inside.

From the same era as the Squire Cheyney home is a house in Westtown on a property once owned by the Chester County Shippen family, who were Loyalists during the American Revolution. Their niece married traitor Benedict Arnold. This house not only has a Revolutionary War connection, but also a strong connection to the Civil War with a great local love story from that era. Another Georgian-style Westtown home you won’t want to miss is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad, with a tunnel from a nearby creek to the house.

Collections and history grace a Cape Codstyle home in Berwyn on 12 acres. Art, pottery and antique maps add to the light, airy additions made over the years to this beautiful house not far from the fox hunt.

Day VIP ticketholders will have an exclusive tour of an 1830 Georgian manor house on seven acres, with many special features, including a pool house, machine shop, barn, tennis courts and magnificent clock tower. This house was recently restored and is only open to VIP ticketh

olders.

Before you start your tour, pre-order a boxed lunch from Arianna’s Gourmet Café. Your order will be available for pick up at one of two lunch stops on the tour route or can be picked up at the fox hunt until 11 a.m. Details for ordering lunch are in the Chester County Day newspaper or at www.ChesterCountyDay.com.

The Day offers two ticket options, a regular priced $50 ticket or a $100 VIP ticket, one of the best bargains around. The VIP package includes an invitation to the preview party in September, as well as a gourmet boxed lunch provided by Montesano Bros Italian Market & Catering at an exclusive house tour open only to VIP ticket holders.

With a GPS and a Chester County Day map (that you will receive when you purchase your ticket) the beautiful architecture and bucolic roads of the county are yours to explore.

Tickets are on sale until Sept. 4 by mail or at specific satellite locations listed on www.ChesterCountyDay.com. General admission ticket is $50, and $100 for VIP tickets, which includes a VIP Reception and Preview Cocktail party at Oakbourne Mansion, Westtown, Sunday, Sept. 22; a private tour of a special VIP house and a gourmet boxed lunch at that house from Montesano Bros Italian Market & Catering.