Shohola Home & Garden Tour July 11
SHOHOLA, PA. – The Shohola Railroad & Historical Society will hold its first home and garden tour on July 11 as part of its year-long commemoration of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday The Shohola Lincoln Bicentennial Home & Garden Tour is not only a fundraiser for the Museum Building Fund, it will also serve as an avenue to display the community’s historical and structural treasures.
The Home and Garden Tour will include six architecturally diverse homes, two beautiful gardens, a historic church, a Civil War-era inn and an opportunity to visit with Abraham Lincoln (a.k.a. John Deck) in what was once a two-room schoolhouse. The tour, which is totally self-paced, begins with a guide booklet and map that includes detailed directions and tour descriptions. Tour participants will be offered the opportunity to view the creations of two local artisans as well as a display of original locally crafted quilts by “The Piecemakers Quilters.” Complimentary refreshments will be available in a hospitality room which will provide an opportunity to rest and refresh.
Tickets are $25 each and may be purchased in Milford at Wells Ferry Emporium, 310 Broad St., or Davis R. Chant Realty, 106 E. Harford St., and in Shohola at the Shohola Municipal Building, 159 Twin Lakes Road. Additional information can be obtained by calling Betty Reaggs at 570-491-4871, Martha Shadler at 570-296-2304 or Marianne Yeaw at 570-559-7438.
The society maintains and operates the Shohola Township Museum located on Route 434 in Shohola, near the Delaware River. The society, known locally as “The Caboose Group,” was formed March 19, 1991, for the specific purpose of preserving and maintaining the Shohola Caboose which houses the Shohola Township Museum. When the group’s constitution was completed in October of that year, its goal had been expanded to include the preservation of local and railroad history, especially as it relates to the Shohola area. The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Shohola Municipal Building, 159 Twin Lakes Road. Members are encouraged to bring memorabilia for display and discussion which coincide with the evening’s program. Free programs are held before the meetings begin. The public and new members are always welcome to attend.
The Society has been instrumental in bringing attention to the 1864 Shohola Civil War train wreck. A historical marker stands at the Caboose telling of the Civil War Prisoner Train Wreck. The wreck happened on July 15 one and a half miles west of Shohola along the Delaware River in Pike County, PA. An eastbound coal train collided with a westbound train carrying Confederate soldiers to a prison camp at Elmira, NY. Nearly 50 Confederate prisoners and 17 of their Union guards, men from both armies who had lived through and survived the great horrors of war, lost their lives. Many more were wounded and cared for by the good citizens of Shohola and nearby Barryville, NY. The event is commemorated annually by a ceremony conducted at the burial site of Confederate and Union soldiers. This year the event is scheduled for Sunday, July 12 beginning at 1:30 PM at the Old Congregational Churchyard, Route 97 and Route 55, Barryville, NY. and will be co-sponsored by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Department of New York Ellis Camp 124. Special attendees will be the Fife & Drums of the Broom St. Band from Port Jervis, NY.
Furthering the good fortunes of the organization, an anonymous donor presented the Society with an original 1872 F. W. Beers Topographical Map of Pike County, PA. The map has been reproduced in a Giclee Print and copies are available for purchase to further benefit the Society’s Building Fund.
Submitted by Martha Shadler
Caption: One of the homes on the tour
