Enjoy holiday sights and sounds with ‘Christmas at Kearney’

The Fresno Historical Society invites you to take a trip back in time this holiday season with “Christmas at Kearney.”

“Throughout December, guests can enjoy the sights and sounds of Kearney Mansion decorated for the holidays, including our beautiful 11-foot real, Reception Room Christmas tree,” says Ruth Lang, the Executive Director of the Fresno Historical Society. “This year’s theme is the Roaring Twenties.”

Christmas at Kearney weekend tours will start Saturday, Dec. 2, with tours at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and  3 p.m. throughout December. On Sunday, Dec. 10, a special Roaring Twenties Champagne Reception will take place at the mansion. Guests will have the opportunity to visit with period characters, listen to live holiday music, and enjoy champagne and appetizers.

Cost for the guided tours is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for kids. There is a $5 car entrance fee to the park. Click here for tour times and additional information.

Kearney Mansion was built in 1903 and is located at 7160 W. Kearney Boulevard, just seven miles west of downtown Fresno. It was the home of M. Theo Kearney, a prominent farmer who was instrumental in the start of the Central Valley’s raisin industry.

The home is on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the Fresno Historical Society. “Year-round, we administer the Kearney Museum and offer public tours of the historic site on the weekends,” Lang says. “We also book school and group tours during the week.”

About the Fresno Historical Society

“Founded in 1919, the mission of the Fresno Historical Society is to engage, inform, and educate the public through collecting, preserving and interpreting the stories, images, and resources of the region’s history to help understand our past and shape our future,” Lang says. “The Fresno Historical Society brings life to the heritage of our region by providing the community with educational opportunities.”

This year the society launched History Happy Hour at the Kearney Mansion Museum and a Summer Lecture Series.

The History Happy Hours give visitors a chance to visit the museum and listen to guests talk about things like early medicine in Fresno County and the history of Clovis.

The Summer Lecture Series featured presentations on Adobe Architecture in the San Joaquin Valley and Preserving Your Family History.

“Our programs committee is currently discussing 2018 programming including a cemetery walking tour, a Mother’s Day picnic, new History Happy Hour presentations and, of course, our annual Civil War Revisited in October,” Lang says.

For the last 28 years, the Fresno Historical Society has partnered with the American Civil War Association to present Civil War Revisited. “This living history experience gives visitors the opportunity to come face-to-face with the people and circumstances of the American Civil War,” Lang says.

Prior to the Civil War Revisited, a special educational program takes place where approximately 4,000 Valley students visit learning stations to help them engage with history.

The Fresno Historical Society Archives is dedicated to the preservation of source materials for the history of Fresno County. “Fresno State students and professors, research and preservation firms, as well as other scholars utilize the Historical Society Archives for research,” Lang says. “The Archives house over 250 manuscripts, around 30,000 historic photographs, 25,000 newspaper clipping entries, oral histories, books, pamphlets, municipal and county records, maps, and architectural records.”

The Fresno Historical Society relies on the support of members. To join the society and learn about member benefits, visit their website, ValleyHistory.org. You can also keep up to date about all their events via Facebook and Twitter.