Get close with local history on Saturday, May 21st as the Heritage Alliance hosts “Picnicking with History” at the Embree House Historic Farm in Telford. This event will include a tour of three, historic homes and a chance to have a picnic lunch on the grounds. Tickets include the tour, a special, period appropriate tasty treat at each of the houses, and a boxed, picnic lunch from Main Street Café.
The tour will start at the Embree House. Built in the 1790s by Seth Smith, this stone house was the childhood home of Elihu Embree, publisher and editor of The Emancipator, the first periodical in the world dedicated solely to the cause of abolitionism. Guests will have a chance to tour the original great room in the house as well as the enslaved quarters in the lower level where the enslaved people worked and lived. From there, guests will have a chance to tour portions of the Wassom House, an 1820’s brick home that is currently being restored. The tour will conclude at the Kyker House, a 1950’s home. It’s not every day that you get a chance to tour three different homes from three different centuries. The Embree House and the Wassom House are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Kyker House received a Preservation Award from the Heritage Alliance.
The site as a whole is managed by Patrick Stern and is used for agrotourism. The event will conclude with a picnic lunch at the Embree House on the grounds where the Indigenous Peoples once lived and a Civil War battle was fought in 1863. Please note that these are historic houses and they include stairs, uneven ground, and tight spaces. During lunch, guests will have a chance to explore the grounds at the Embree House. Good walking shoes are required for this event.
There are four tour and lunch slots available on May 21st at 11:30 pm, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, and 4:00 pm. There are only 20 tickets available per slot, so make sure you book your tickets fast. The cost is $30.00 per person. This event is a unique fundraiser for the Heritage Alliance and the proceeds will help keep our museums free to the public. You can purchase tickets online through the Town of Jonesborough’s ticketing system at Jonesborough.com/tickets. You can also call the Visitor’s Center at 423.753.1010.
