JACKSONVILLE, Ore. — Strolling the streets of Jacksonville around Christmas time, many are celebrating what’s called a “Victorian Christmas.”
It’s been a tradition for over forty years.
“These are our heritage. This is why we are who we are today,” said Carolyn Kingsnorth, President of the Historic Jacksonville Inc.
For over 40 years, Jacksonville has been celebrating a special kind of christmas.
“Gifts also started small,” she said. “And many of them would have been placed on the tree.”
It’s called a “Victorian christmas;” a means to celebrate the beloved holiday but also keep the town’s history alive.
“You would have seen carolers on the street, there would have been horse-drawn wagon rides…,” Kingsnorth said.
NBC5’s Amanda Rose stepped back in time with Kingsnorth as her guide through the historic home of Cornelius C. Beekman. Built in 1870, the home is fully-furnished as if its occupants never left.
“To share the people and their stories by bringing it to life,” Kingsnorth said. “So they can know what it was like, so they can know who these people were.”
Filled with some of the family’s cherished traditions along with a recipe for Mrs. Beekman’s famous sugar cookies.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is look at the origins of some of the things we do,” she said.
Sitting in the parlor by the Beekman family Christmas tree is what Kingsnorth says makes Jacksonville so enchanting.
“For you to experience what it would have been like in the late 1800s,” she said.
There will also be tours of the home on “Boxing day” celebrating the holiday the Victorian way.
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