FIFTH ANNUAL

ANOKA HERITAGE HOME AND GARDEN TOUR

            On Sunday, July 13^th the Anoka County Historical Society and the Anoka Heritage Preservation Commission will partner for the fifth annual Anoka Heritage Home and Garden Tour.  This year’s tour will focus on the historic homes of the Whiskey Flats neighborhood, west of the Rum River and south of Main Street in Anoka.  Tickets can be purchased for $12 at the Anoka County History Center and Library or at Riverfest on July 12^th.  Advance tickets are on sale now, and the public is invited to call (763) 421-0600 for more information.

             Ticket holders can tour inside the historic homes and businesses between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.  Once again, local businesses on the tour are providing door prizes for a drawing, but visitors must check each business to find out if theirs is the winning ticket! 

            The tour will include the home where the first Catholic mass was celebrated in Anoka County.  The home of George Green, who is credited with the creation of Anoka Halloween, and the home of Herman Ticknor, pioneer druggist, were both labeled “mansions” when they were built. Both are elegant, and stately, and hold a great many treasures in terms of antique furniture and decorating details. 

            Also included in the tour, the Anoka Amphitheater rises above the shimmering Rum River, attesting to a time when its seats were filled with patrons gathered for concerts, plays and “homemade” pageants, often written specifically for the site.

            In addition to the fascinating homes on the tour, participants will also stroll through serenely beautiful gardens, lush with summer blossoms.  See the huge vegetable garden behind a 19^th century farmhouse and get a word of advice from its creator.

            ACHS is extremely grateful to the folks who have agreed to open their homes for this exciting event, and for the generous support of the sponsors: Edward Jones Investments, Plants and Things, Fifth Avenue Dental, Gould’s Diamonds and Jewelry, The Artique Antiques, Collectibles and Framing, BOB 106 radio, Ticknor Hill Bed and Breakfast, the Weaver family, The Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce, the Christian Hill neighborhood, and the Oliver H. Kelly Farm.

            Founded in 1934, the Anoka County Historical Society works to collect, preserve, and share with the public the history of Anoka County. The Society is headquartered in the Anoka County History Center and Library located at 2135 Third Avenue North, Anoka, MN 55303.