Wright House in Peters Township greets visitors for Soup ’N’ Stroll
Harry Funk/The Almanac
“Wild” Willy Frankford, former president of the Peters Creek Historical Society, greets visitors to the 1790s-era log house during Soup ‘N’ Stroll.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Brenda Ruppert gives a warm greeting to Father Christmas, also known as Jim Amato. The precursor to Santa Claus was popular in 19th-century America.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Serving all kinds of homemade goodies are, from left, Liz Bollinger, Ruthann Seraly and Donna Pasquinelli.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Donna Marraccini greets visitors in the Wright House’s Costume Room, which displays historic apparel.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Peters Township Middle School eighth-grader Haley Lincoln volunteers to assist with the event.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Retired Peters Township Middle School teacher Vaughn Dailey dons an outfit of yesteryear for the event.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Len Marraccini, Peters Creek Historical Society vice president, greets visitors to the Wright House’s Mining Room.
For more than two centuries, the Enoch Wright House has stood near the eastern edge of Peters Township.
And for more than 40 years, the Peters Creek Historical Society has owned the brick structure and its one-and-a-third acres of property, making numerous upgrades and improvements to ensure the continuing presence of the community asset.
The society’s main fundraiser is the annual Soup ‘N’ Stroll each holiday season, which took place Dec. 8. Along with featuring a variety of homemade soups, breads and desserts, the event provides an opportunity for visitors to take in all of what the Wright House has to offer.
Its origins date back to about 1772, when brothers James and Joshua Wright settled in the area with their families after traveling from Rockingham County, Va. When Joshua died in 1781, his land was divided among his three children, Enoch included.
The house, along Venetia Road next to the village of Hackett, remained in the Wright family until its donation to the historical society in 1976. Also called the Museum of Westward Expansion, the building features a variety of displays chronicling local history, from prehistoric artifacts to Colonial times to the post-Civil War era, including an extensive collection of coal-mining memorabilia.
Toward the rear of the property is a 1790s-era log house that stood in West Finley Township for more than 200 years, until the property owner donated the building to the historical society. It then was disassembled, transported and rebuilt as an example of the tight quarters in which frontier families generally lived.
The Wright House hosts events periodically throughout the year, and the historical society meets monthly on the fourth Monday at Wright’s United Methodist Church, 788 Venetia Road, Peters Township. For more information, visit peterscreekhistoricalsociety.org.