By AMY ADAMS
news@readthereporter.com
One might be inclined to think that Santa Claus visiting Westfield’s Barker Cabin wouldn’t be historically accurate.
However, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” known today as The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore, was first published in New York’s Troy Sentinel in 1823.
A little more than 10 years later, Nicholas Barker built a cabin for his family in Westfield in 1835. So, it is reasonable to believe that St. Nicholas may have visited the home of his namesake to place something in the stockings of the Barker’s nine children.
Regardless of whether St. Nick visited the Barker family in the 1800s, Santa Claus stopped by the cabin, now situated at 136 Penn St., on Saturday, Dec. 14. He welcomed children, asked them what they wanted for Christmas, and handed out candy canes.
Volunteers of the Westfield Washington Historical Society were on hand to tell the kids and their parents a little about what life would have been like in the cabin nearly 200 years ago.
Santa felt right at home sitting by the hearth, where burlap stockings hung above a roaring fire. (Reporter photo by Amy Adams)
Be the first to comment on "Santa visits Barker Cabin"