LAMBERTVILLE — The annual Lambertville Historical Society will have its annual house tour Sunday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eleven historical sites will be open to the public, including, for the first time, the original Lambertville schoolhouse, now a multi-level home.
Included on the tour are six homes plus the Swan Hotel, the historic Hibernia firehouse, the First Presbyterian Church built in the 1800s, the 1816 Marshall House Museum and the Holcombe-Jimison Museum.
Here’s a peek at the homes on the tour:
• The Tuscan Revival style Lambertville schoolhouse, built in 1878 with its four original classrooms transformed into an art and antiques-filled living room, spacious bedroom suites and an antiques restoration workshop.
Each room has the original hardwood floors and arched windows. The original principal’s office on the mezzanine floor is now a dining room with paladin windows.
A custom kitchen was designed by Bucks County furniture designer Paul Evans. Paintings from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art artist Joseph Grossman grace the walls of the living room.
• An1868 Italian Revival home whose high ceilings, hipped roof and wide overhanging eaves bring to mind an Italian villa.
Originally built as a mansion, this home was divided into a spacious duplex, the left side of which has eight rooms, five working fireplaces and a library with 10½-foot ceilings and original pocket doors.
Many of the building’s authentic features are still in place such as banisters, newel posts and woodwork. Extensive renovations have been done to the kitchen characterized by age and history paired with modern convenience and comfort.
• A Federal-style home circa 1873 with period trim and pumpkin pine floors, restored and adapted to feature views of the Delaware and Raritan Canal.
Roof brackets, window lentils and the six-over-six pane windows complement the overall symmetry of the exterior.
The original door is topped by a transom with period-style numbering. Twin parlors still have the original pocket doors, matching fireplaces and much of the original window glass.
Art and antiques add to this home.
• An 1877 Second Empire home with Eastlake detail.
White marble stairs lead to a doorway with two-color highlights and marble arch. These details draw the eye to the Mansard roof and barge-board lattice on the gable at top.
The first-floor parlor is accented by a ceiling medallion and reproduction gas chandelier. A side-porch brings visitors into the library, which was once a kitchen with a small concealed staircase for servants.
This room has a built-in corner cabinet, oak floors, custom bookshelves and a photo of the home as it was in 1905.
• Italianate Victorian home circa 1883 with tin ceilings, architectural molding and pine flooring.
A living room has 10-foot ceilings and many large windows. Delicate floral appliqués of the stairpost are carried into the decorative trim and moldings in the parlor and dining areas.
An ornamented grand arch with architectural bases divides the living and dining areas. The side of the house has a two-story bay window with bell cast Mansard roof between the first and second floor windows.
• Restored Victorian “triple” circa 1880.
The front porch has original bead board ceilings, turned posts and a steeply pitched gabled roof. The living room has large windows, 9-foot ceilings and an oak floor made to match the original oak that still exists in the dining room.
The rear bedroom features a window view of the garden area. An adjacent upstairs bath has the original 5-panel door and hardware and original moldings.
Additional historic sites include a 1885 working Victorian firehouse of the Hibernia Fire Company with meeting and recreation spaces that reflect the history of this organization; a 1873 restaurant and second-floor dining spaces reflecting original artwork of regional artists and collecting of the owner; the First Presbyterian Church of 1855, 1868 and 1884 in Greek Revival style that features period stained glass windows, oak pews and a paneled ceiling; the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead, a museum preserving Hunterdon County’s rural heritage with extensive exhibits and local history; it is open from 1 to 4 p.m. for the tour.
Finally, the 1816 James Wilson Marshall Home will be open with period displays and an exhibition on the history of Lambertville.
This Federal style home is maintained by the Lambertville Historical Society, the host of this annual tour.
Advance tickets are available for $15. They are $20 the day of the tour.
To purchase tickets by mail, send a stamped self-addressed envelope with a check payable to the Lambertville Historical Society to P.O. Box 2, Lambertville, 08530.
All envelopes must be received no later than Oct. 13.
Advance tickets also can be purchased at Coda at 32 Bridge St.; the Coryell Gallery at 8 Coryell St.; Dresswell’s at 10 Bridge St.; the Homestead Farm Market at 262 N. Main St.; the Lambertville Trading Company at 43 Bridge St.; the Lambertville Library at Lilly and South Main streets; the Marshall House at 60 Bridge St. (weekends from 1to 4 p.m.); Fiddleheads at 19 Bridge St. and the Blue Raccoon at 6 Coryell St.
In New Hope, they can be purchased at Farley’s Bookshop at 44 S. Main St.
In Stockton, they are available at Phillip’s Fine Wines at 17 Bridge St.
The day of the tour, tickets will be available starting at 10:30 a.m. at the James Marshall House, at City Hall at 18 York St. and the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead on Route 29.
The Hunterdon Harmonizers Barbershop Quartet will be roaming through town to entertain people on the house tour.
Free parking and shuttle bus service will be available. The bus will loop continuously from the parking area at the Holcome-Jimison Farmstead to City Hall every 20 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
For more information, call 397-0770, visit www.lambertvillehistoricalsociety.org or e-mail [email protected].

