The Niles History Center is wrapping up the 2019 holiday season. If you have not yet visited at the Chapin Mansion and Fort St. Joseph Museum, you still have time!  From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, the Niles History Center will host a special Holiday Evening Open House. Visitors will see the Historic Chapin Mansion and Fort St. Joseph Museum decorated by various community groups and businesses in the theme for the year: Home for the Holidays. The event is free, though donations are accepted, which assist with Chapin Mansion rehabilitation efforts.

During the Holiday Evening Open House, a variety of fun and festive events will take place. At the mansion, visitors will view the holiday decorations and learn about the history of this beloved Niles landmark. Each room has unique decorations, including hand crafted ornaments, antiques, a tree dedicated to local veterans and a family collection of African American Santas. Scavenger hunts and “selfie” trees make the event fun for all ages.

The Fort St. Joseph Museum, located in the former carriage house of the Chapin Mansion, will also be open during the event. The museum features two floors of exhibits, including a special display of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer memorabilia. In 1939, department store Montgomery Wards distributed the story of Rudolph to more than two million customers and a holiday tradition was born. Visit the exhibit to learn about the history of Rudolph and the story’s connection to Niles.

As Fort St. Joseph is a major part of Niles history, this year we added a small display on 18th century Christmas traditions to reflect when this area was a part of New France. Children used to place their clogs near the hearth so that “Père Noel” (Father Christmas) could put gifts inside on Christmas Eve. Clogs were replaced by shoes and eventually, knitted stockings. Fruit was a much appreciated gift, as it was hard to come by during the cold winter months.

Speaking of Fort St. Joseph, on this evening we will offer a behind the scenes look at the Fort St. Joseph archaeology collections, which are housed at the Chapin Mansion. Fort St. Joseph Curatorial Fellow Erika Hartley is working to reorganize, catalog and digitize the more than 300,000 objects recovered from the site. Hartley will provide a glimpse of the collections space and discuss her work with the fellowship.

To show another side of the holiday, at 6 p.m., Niles police officer and Chapin Mansion docent Angie Lick will give a special presentation on the history of Krampus. In recent years, St. Nicholas’s sinister companion has gained popularity throughout the U.S., with some communities even hosting festivals to celebrate the legend. Lick will discuss the folklore of Krampusnacht and show an array of Krampus memorabilia from the 1800s through the present.

If you cannot make it to the Holiday Evening Open House, there are still opportunities to tour the Chapin Mansion before the end of the 2019 tour season.  Guided tours of the Chapin Mansion are offered at 1 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays (with the exception of Dec. 14) through the end of this month. The cost for tours is $5 per person ages 12 and up.

Please check the Niles History Center’s website, nileshistorycenter.org, for more information or call (269) 845-4054. The Niles History Center is located at 508 E. Main St., Niles.

Mollie Watson is the assistant director for the Niles History Center. For more information, she can be reached at (269) 845-4504 or by email at mwatson@nilesmi.org.