CHESTER COUNTY DAY AT YELLOW SPRINGS
Join in and explore the Northeast quadrant of Chester County on Saturday, October 7th from 10 am to 5 pm. This year’s 82nd annual Chester County Day tour will feature Chester County’s most beautiful homes and restored barns featuring three segments of the Northeast – Malvern to Chester Springs including Yellow Springs and Anselma, Chester Springs to Phoenixville, and a walking tour in the Borough of Phoenixville.
Yellow Springs is pleased to be on the tour, and we thank the hospitality of Amy DeShong and Mark Ashton who will open the Rosato House, also known as the Main House, where they live. This stunning historic home is central to the village and represents a long involvement in the history here. Parts of this house date to the 18th century when Revolutionary War Dr. Samuel Kennedy lived here. Innkeepers resided here during the spa era followed by teachers at the PA Soldiers’ Orphan School. The director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Country School lived here, and you won’t want to miss the large walk-in fireplace on the ground floor where students met daily for tea and cakes and discussion of their en plein air painting. The Yeaworth family lived here during the film-making era of Good News Productions.
The event will start at 8:30 a.m. with the pageantry of horses, hounds and riders as the Kimberton Hunt hosts a Stirrup Cup and will discuss the history of hunting. Following that, the horn will sound, and they will be off! Coffee and baked goods will be available on this brisk autumn morning.
Then tour the Rosato House followed by walking across the street to the Lincoln Building where you can view an exhibition: The Chester County Barn Considered – Adapting to a World of Change. Mark Ashton has assembled this photo display of barns in West Pikeland and the surrounding area. Especially noted are the two barns in the village of Yellow Springs, one home to the Chester Springs Studio and the large 1845 Pennsylvania Bank Barn housing the West Pikeland Township offices and the SALT theatrical production company. Both have been repurposed through the centuries.
Chester County Day is sponsored by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Chester County Hospital with funds going toward medical support to the hospital. Cost per ticket is $55 and includes admission to all homes and landmarks on the tour. This is the nation’s longest-running house tour supported by many in the region.
To purchase tickets, get your booklet with tour map, learn about all the sites on the tour, rest stops, and picnic opportunities along the way, please check the Chester County Day website at or call 610 431-5328. Box lunches can be purchased at this website also and must be pre-ordered. There will be an early-morning pickup of lunches at the Hunt site at Yellow Springs from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. as well as other sites along the way.