About two hundred years ago, when Christmas started on December 25th and lasted 12 days, the last day of that period was often the biggest celebration. That was the focus of a recent event at Adena Mansion & Gardens outside of Chillicothe.
Staff and volunteers opened the historic site for a “Twelfth Night” feast on January 10th, 2026, during its otherwise closed winter season. New site manager Pat Quackenbush welcomed visitors at the front counter, former director Mary Anne Brown helped interpret the candle-lit drawing room and dining room in the mansion, and interpreters were cooking (and playing cards) in the tenant house.
Though it was a chill, drizzly afternoon, visitation was good and the fading daylight enhanced the candlelight. (Electric candles were used inside the mansion!)
I interviewed Director Quackenbush at the visitors center, and recorded interpreters in the tenant house. See those videos below.
Get ready for Statehood Day at Adena, on Sunday, March 1st. (See also my video of driving past the Great Seal view.) Adena Mansion & Gardens has a web page and Facebook page.
That event is separate from Chillicothe’s March 7th, 2026 Statehood Day (traditionally on the first Saturday of March), starting with the Kiwanis Prayer Breakfast and followed by open houses of local museums and historic sites.
Find the article on the Scioto Post.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.