Candlelight Tours

Tour the McHenry Mansion decorated in all of its Christmas finery by candlelight. The tours will be on Saturday, December 17, 2022 and Sunday, December 18, 2022. The Tours begin at 5:00 pm and the last entrance is at 8:30 pm. Tickets are $10 for Adults and $5 for Children under ten years. Learn the history of some of your favorite holiday traditions such as Christmas trees, candles, candy canes, gingerbread houses, poinsettias, stockings and many more.

Christmas Tea (Sold Out)

Get in the Holiday spirit by making your reservation for the McHenry Mansion Christmas Tea. It will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. There will be two seatings: 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Cost is $40 per person. The first seating is already sold out and seating is limited so make your reservations early. You can make your reservations by calling Janie at (209) 522-1739.

Independence Day

The Mansion will be open on July 4th. Tours before and after the parade, 8:30 to 10:00 am and 11:30 to 12:30 pm.

The McHenry Mansion will be decked out in red, white, and blue bunting to celebrate the 4th of July. As in the past, the Mansion will be open for viewing from 8:30 a.m. until the parade reaches the Mansion. It will be open for approximately half an hour after the parade ends.

The McHenry Mansion Foundation will be operating a food booth on 15th Street. Hot dogs, sodas, water, donuts, coffee, and ice cream will be available.

So watch the parade under the shady elms on the I street side of the Mansion, tour the Mansion while you are waiting for the parade, and have a hot dog.

Table Setting Event 

Viewing Day and Luncheon, usually held in October, have unfortunately been canceled due to the pandemic.

Morbid Obsession 

Morbid Obsession is Back! For a different Halloween Experience, take a self-guided, one-of-a-kind tour through the McHenry Mansion where you will experience the Victorian Way of Death including Strange Funeral Customs. Most funerals took place in the family residence. The McHenry’s were no exception. Express your condolences to Mrs. McHenry standing by the open casket of dearly departed Robert McHenry. Learn about the “fashionable disease”—Consumption. For some, consumption or tuberculosis as we call it today, ended in a swift death. For others, it became a lingering illness, and for others, there were no symptoms. (Sound familiar?)

For the Victorians, it was important to remember the dead. This could be done by preserving the deceased’s hair in a locket or broach or a hair wreath. With the advent of photography, post-mortem photographs were in demand, particularly if no pictures were taken when the person was alive. Many times, the bodies were posed with other family members as if they were alive. A gallery of these photographs awaits you.

The custom of wearing black was a way to let friends and strangers know that you have lost a member of your family. Learn about the rules for appropriate attire.

19th Century embalming came into its own due to the Civil War.

See a portable embalming bed and equipment that could be used in the home. See lithographs of major Presidential funerals: Lincoln, Garfield, and Grant.

Then there are the cemeteries, spiritualists, and much more!

The dates are Tuesday, October 25, Wednesday, October 26, and Thursday, October 27, 2022. Tours start at 5:30 p.m., and the last entrance is at 9:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per person.

McHenry Mansion Christmas Fair - New Date!

The McHenry Mansion Christmas Fair, formerly known as “Dickens Faire”, has moved to the last Saturday in November. The date is Saturday, November 26, 2022. The reason for the change from the first Saturday in December is that the City of Modesto Christmas Parade has grown so large that it needs all-day to get ready for it. By changing the date, the Fair can stay open longer.

The entire street in front of the Manson is closed to traffic for the day, and vendors set up booths featuring a unique and interesting assortment of Christmas items, jewelry, food, crafts and other offerings for sale. It’s a great place to do some early holiday shopping. View the McHenry Mansion in all of its Christmas finery from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Musical entertainment will occur throughout the day. Father Christmas will be handing out candy canes. Horse-drawn wagon rides, which are a popular reminder of a by-gone era, will be available for a nominal fee. There will be activities for children.