The annual Holiday Open House at Centre Hill Museum will be held on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free for the weekend activities for the public as well as those with a Historic Petersburg Foundation Christmas Tour ticket. Centre Hill is located at 1 Centre Hill Avenue in Petersburg.
Entertainment will be provided by the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School Harp Trio from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Winds and Guitar Ensemble from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, the Bowld Sojer Band will play from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Families and friends are invited to come join Petersburg Museums in this holiday tradition and for some festive music that is sure to put you in the holiday spirit.
The historic house will feature some holiday decorations reminiscent of the Civil War era as well as some contemporary designs. Activity booklets will also be available for children ages 5 to 11. The museum’s gift shop has an assortment of local history books, ornaments and other gift giving items. Light refreshments will be provided.
Revolutionary War veteran Robert Bolling IV built Centre Hill in 1823. The mansion features three American architectural styles. Today the historic house museum is furnished with a variety of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century decorative arts. Centre Hill was the site of two presidential visits, Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and William Howard Taft in 1909. The museum has also been used as a setting in filming movies and television series including Killing Lincoln, the Abolitionist, TURN, Mercy Street and Ithaca.