Dickens of a Christmas
This weekend was Ebensburg’s 14th annual Dickens of a Christmas. From Friday through Sunday the town was filled with all things Christmas. Houses, storefronts, and even the Courthouse were decorated for the season.
Friday’s events included the decorating of the Courthouse, the Gingerbread House contest at the Cambria County Historical Society, Tree Lighting, Wassailing, and Christmas themed plays at the local high schools.
Saturday had a much fuller schedule. There were multiple indoor craft and vendor fairs. Kids could have breakfast with Santa at the Young People’s Community Center. There were cookies and baked goods by the ton in multiple locations. There was a model train display at the First United Church of Christ. A Christmas Parade ran through town. Spruce Run Farms provided some reindeer for people to see. Carriage rides around the town were available. For a reasonable fee there was a Santa Pub Crawl. Organ recital at the Ebensburg Presbyterian Church. Both the Old Cambria County Jail and the Cambria County Historical Society were open and giving free tours.
The Cambria County Historical Society is a lovely high style Queen Anne Victorian built in 1889 by A. W. Buck. In 1923 the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown purchased the property to create a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1990, the house was sold to the Cambria County Historical Society and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. There are several cases full of display items on the first floor. On the second floor even more items are on display showing the various history of the town and surrounding areas. This Saturday there were many Ginger bread creations on display. Snacks and drinks were also available. There were several guides and local historians on hand to answer questions. Due to maternity leave, the hours of the museum have been reduced and it will be closed in January. I would recommend making the trip once they re-open. They can be found at their website and on Facebook.
One of the more interesting events of the day was the free tour of the Old Cambria County Jail. An impressive building, it was constructed in 1872 in the Gothic Revival style out of sandstone quarried from near by Revloc.
This was a very popular event. The line stretched out the door and down the street. After waiting for a while outside, the line moved into a room at the front left of the building. After waiting for a while there, the group moved into the next room before being guided into the prison. Our group moved into the old jail first. This section was built in 1872 and had 34 cells, including death row cells.
After a brief history of this section and time to look around, the group was taken into the next section of the jail. This portion was built in 1911 and contains 52 cells. Three tiers of steel impress one as they walk into the room. We were given some more information pertaining to the new portion and some information about the ghost seeking that took place in 2017 by the crew of Paranormal Lockdown. After a short while here, we were taken up to the third floor of cells and taken across the walkway back into the original portion of the jail. We walked along the upper floors and around to the stairs.
Our group was then guided down into the “dungeon”. A portion of the prison built underground. There are rooms that look like cells with out doors. It is believed to have been an area used to house unruly prisoners, those most likely to be considered mentally ill by today’s standards. It is dark and spooky, which helps further the belief that it is severely haunted.
All-in-all the wait was worth it. The tour could have been a little better structured and contained a smidgen more historical information, however I loved every moment of my tour. I would love to see them host more tours throughout the year. This is definitely a place that should be utilized more often.
After a long and fascinating day, I finished off my outing with a trip to the local brewery. Coal Country Brewing is a delightful place to visit with a variety of beer on tap for great prices. They also provide wine from a local winery and have some old fashioned sodas on tap for kids. I stopped by for their seasonal release: Hard Dickens Cider Apple Ale. It was wonderfully refreshing!
