Society cancels house tours due to scheduling issues

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NAUGATUCK — Scheduling conflicts has led to the decision to cancel tours of the town’s historic homes as a part of this weekend’s Naugatuck Summer Festival, the Naugatuck Historical Society announced Friday.

The annual Summer Festival takes place Saturday from 2 to 10 p.m. on Church Street, and the historical society planned to offer a walking tour of the area’s historic homes. Historical society Treasurer Wendy Murphy said while the tours have been canceled, the historical society will remain open during the street festival and visitors are welcome.

Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess began the seasonal festivals in the fall of 2016 as a way to increase the sense of community in Naugatuck and promote town businesses. Each season sees a new festival, with vendors selling their products with no charge to participate in the event.

Last year, during the first seasonal summer festival, the historical society hosted a walking tour of 10 houses in the historic district. About 120 people toured the homes, Murphy said.

The society’s decision to cancel the tour this year was due to scheduling conflicts with multiple families in the historic houses, Murphy said.

For last year’s tour, the historic homes were open for folks who purchased tickets. Homeowners were present to answer questions about the home’s age, any remodeling done to the house and the former purpose for each room at the time of its construction, Murphy said.

“They are all private homes and it was a walking tour. The houses are all walking distance from each other,” Murphy said. “But we had a few people on vacation and someone who was remodeling.”

In the wake of this year’s cancellation, Murphy said, the historical society Board of Directors decided to make the walking tour a biannual event, with the next one scheduled for Oct. 5, 2019.