When we made pickles this year, Janis mentioned going to the Hearthstone House because they were celebrating 140 years of being the first hydroelectric house in the US. Danielle and I said we were interested in going. Janis said we could go to the lighting of the house because the reception was for members only. We were fine with that.
Danielle and I ended up going by ourselves. Because the Hearthstone House has a small parking lot and we didn't know where we'd have to park, we got there early and actually ended up with the last spot in the lot. They said to get there by 6:20 and the program would start at 6:40.
6:40 came and went. Finally Henry J Rogers, the owner of the house in 1882, appeared along with his family. He came out to the front porch to make a speech.
He had his maid extinguish the candles.
Then he flipped the switch and there was light in Appleton.
It was actually very cool to see what the residents of Appleton saw 140 years ago when they first turned on the lights to the house that was powered by the Fox River.
Then he invented everyone inside for the reception. I guess since there was not a lot of people there, they could invite everyone in or Danielle and I just crashed the party -- very undressed.
Not only were we able to do a self guided tour of the house which neither of us ever saw before, we also enjoyed cheese, crackers, and fruit along with wine in crystal (gasp) wine glasses while we toured the historic home. There was a pianist to entertain guest while they mingled like there would have been back in 1882.
After we finished our tour, we indulged in some cake before leaving.
The house is amazing and I would love to take a tour of it maybe even see it decked out for Christmas. I did not truly get to appreciate the house while we were there since it was more of reception than a tour. I honestly felt out of place.
I am so glad Janis mentioned this piece of history to us and that I was able to attend. If you haven't checked out the Hearthstone House, definitely put it on your list of things to see in Appleton. It is ornate and gorgeous insdie
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