Roxbury Township: Special Holiday Visitors Expected at Museums in Drakesville Park

Published on December 04, 2018

Saltbox Christmas, Soup Supper, Pictures with Father Christmas Set for Weekend

Several special visitors will attend the Friday evening, December 7 opening of the Museums at Drakesville Historic Park, 209-211 Main Street in Ledgewood. The museums will be open from 6-9 pm, and admission is free. The museums will also be open on Sunday.

Father Christmas, in a splendid Victorian costume, will pay a visit to the King House Museum. Guests and their families will have the opportunity to take pictures with him in the King Family parlor, one of the rooms in the circa 1878 vernacular Queen Anne house, which will of course, be decorated for the holidays in a manner authentic to the period.

Also on Friday evening, visitors to the museums will hear carolers from St. Therese School and the Talent Show of Hope. Next door to the King House Museums, the Silas Riggs Saltbox House will host a Saltbox Christmas with a Soup Supper, a long-time tradition in Roxbury. Luminaries will light the way along the paths to the three museums.

The second holiday opening for the museums will be on Sunday, December 9 from 1-4 pm. Tours of the museums will be available, and the King House gift shop will be open. The gift shop sells small historically-themed items, books about local history, and coupon books for Cliff's Ice Cream, a well-known local attraction.

Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Originating in the Middle Ages, Father Christmas was a legendary Yuletide visitor who saw a resurgence in popularity during the Victorian era. A postcard of the time describes him as a benevolent older gentleman with a flowing white beard, wearing a red-sleeved gown trimmed with white fur and carrying a sack of Christmas presents.

For more information about these events, please go to: http://roxburynewjersey.com/trust.htm, or visit Museums at Drakesville on Facebook.