Walking tour shows off Philipsburg history

PHILIPSBURG — Did you know St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Philipsburg was the first church in the United States to have electrical lights? Did you know the Rowland Theatre has the largest screen of any indoor theater in central Pennsylvania?

Both buildings were stops on the first-ever Philipsburg Historical Holiday Walking Tour, held Dec. 11. The event raised $900, which was split evenly between three groups in the community for upcoming projects.

‘We were very pleased with the turnout,’ said Dana Shoemaker, Philipsburg’s Main Street manager. ‘We had 80 people on the tour, and we really think everyone enjoyed it. We had great weather, with just a little bit of snow. Everyone was able to walk the entire tour, and that’s what we were hoping for.

‘It was a great tour and we raised some money for some important things.’

According to Shoemaker, the money raised through the ticket sales will benefit a marquee project at the Rowland, replacement of a stone wall at the Philipsburg Historical Foundation, and work at Cold Stream Dam by the Cold Stream Recreation Committee.

The tour was designed to showcase the beauty of decoration and architecture at some of the community’s best-known homes, churches and businesses.

‘We got started a little late, and we would have liked to have more homeowners open up their homes to let people see how beautiful they are on the inside; however, we just started organizing this the second week of November, and with the Thanksgiving holiday and hunting season, it was just hard to get everything together like we wanted to,’ Shoemaker said.

‘Next year, we’ll start earlier. We had several people come up to us and say they would like to be involved next year. This was our first time doing it, and we learned a lot.’

The tour opened at a historical building — the Philipsburg Borough Building. Once home to the community’s fire department, the building served as a home base for tour takers, and offered a restroom facility as well as refreshments. There, those participating were handed a flier with all the ‘stops’ and were cast off to enjoy their tours.

‘We made it so people could take the tour as they wanted to. Some may have already been in a home or a church, and they might have wanted to skip that one,’ said Shoemaker. ‘That’s OK. We just wanted people to have a good time and enjoy the many different beautiful buildings we have here in Philipsburg.’

In addition to the handful of homes, those taking the tour also visited churches and a few businesses. Participating locations included The Old Mud Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, The Hess Mansion, Holdren Mansion, Visions of the Past on Centre Street, The Morris House, Trinity United Methodist Church, Two Painting Broads, First Lutheran Church, The Simler House, Poppy and Co./Sparkle Floral, Reflections of Sugar Hill, Rowland Theatre, Twisted Vine Winery, Front and Centre Production and Thieves Market and Shindig Alley.

‘The event was very well received,’ said Shoemaker. ‘I didn’t hear any negative comments and all the people who posted on Facebook about it seemed to really enjoy themselves. We will definitely do it again next year.’

She said this first attempt at a historical walking tour was just a building block.

‘We’re going to add more stops next year, and hopefully, more homes,’ she said. ‘We have some other ideas we’re kicking around for it too. It’s going to be even bigger and better next holiday season.’