While much of the country was adding indoor plumbing and electricity, Thomas Hess did not add any of those upgrades to his farmhouse on what is now Quiet Valley Road. His wife, Anna, ran a summer bed and breakfast there during the Great Depression and called it "Spring Run Farm." She hosted guests escaping the city heat in a house that still looked much as it had in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Every event on Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm's calendar between now and mid-December depends on that decision. The Harvest Festival this weekend, the murder mystery in late October, the holiday workshop in November and Old Time Christmas in December all use the same buildings in a different season. The schedule also rewards planning. The cheapest way into December is a ticket bought starting November 1.
The House That Skipped a Century
The farm's story begins in 1765. That year the Depper family, sometimes spelled Zepper, sailed from Rotterdam to Philadelphia on the English ship The Betsy, having left the Palatinate region of Germany. By about 1770 they had likely settled in Hamilton Township near what is now Stroudsburg. Their descendants farmed the land for five generations and nearly 150 years. The line ran through Katherine Depper and Johann Ludwig Meyer, then their son John Simon Meyer, then Hannah and Peter Marsh, and finally Horace and Emma Marsh. In 1913 the property was sold outside the family to Thomas and Anna Hess.
Alice and Wendell Wicks later bought the property. They first planned to develop it. Then they realized how little had changed inside, and that many historic artifacts and furnishings were still in place. With their daughter and son-in-law, Sue and Gary Oiler, they restored the original farmhouse and the 1850s barn. Quiet Valley Farm Museum opened to the public on July 13, 1963.
Since 1974 the farm has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation run by a board of directors. Alice Wicks stayed involved in managing it until she retired in 2001, at 85. The Oilers managed the farm until 2005. The farm names its major fundraisers as Farm Animal Frolic, the Pocono State Craft Festival, the Harvest Festival and Old Time Christmas. The last two fall within the next ten weeks. Admission to those events pays for keeping an unmodernized farmhouse unmodernized.
This Weekend: The 52nd Harvest Festival
The farm's own listing calls the Harvest Festival its "largest festival." It runs Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is $18 for adults and $10 for ages 3 to 12.
The program list shows what a farm stuck in the 1800s can do in October. It includes candle dipping, scrapple making, tanning, leather work, spinning and weaving. It also has one-room school presentations, a Civil War encampment, folk entertainment, a quilt raffle, wagon rides and children's activities. Scrapple making is an autumn job on a Pennsylvania German farm, so the festival shows the farm doing what it would have been doing this time of year.
Two rules to know before you go:
- No pets. The listing is explicit, so plan for the dog to stay home.
- No smoking anywhere on the grounds.
The farm notes that prices and schedules can change and that all money raised supports the nonprofit farm museum. It also runs a volunteer page for anyone who wants to help at the festival instead of attending as a visitor.
Two Weeks Later, the Same Farm After Dark
On Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, the farm switches from craft demonstrations to a guided murder mystery. At Spooky Days on the Farm, a guide leads groups around the property to meet suspects and gather clues. The farm pitches it as "something more unique than just another haunted house."
The same historic setting that makes the Harvest Festival work makes this one work at night. The farm warns that it is "extremely dark at night" and asks visitors to bring flashlights.
| Detail | Spooky Days on the Farm |
|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 23 | 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Last tour starts | 8:30 p.m., from the log cabin gift shop |
| Tour length | About 1.5 to 2 hours, continuous departures |
| Admission | $18 adults, $10 ages 3–12 |
| Age guidance | Not suitable for audiences under 7 |
Families with younger children should know two details. A forensic specialist designed the program, and it includes discussions and depictions of death and murder. That explains the under-7 limit, even though the ticket prices include a children's rate. Actors are not allowed to touch visitors. Tickets have been on sale since September 1.
A week later, on Saturday, October 31, Halloween moves downtown. The Downtown Stroudsburg Business Association's free Spooky Stroudsburg runs from 1 to 6 p.m., with decorated storefronts and family activities. If your kids are too young for the murder mystery, this daytime event downtown is the one built for them.
November 1 Decides Your December
The Harvest Festival has one price, and Spooky Days has one price. Old Time Christmas has two. Advance admission is $16 for adults and $8 for ages 3 to 12. At the gate it is $18 and $10. Tickets go on sale November 1, 2026.
On a single adult ticket the difference is $2. For two adults and two kids it comes to $8, and buying early also gets you your pick of tour times. Public tours leave every 15 minutes starting at 1:30 p.m. The first-weekend listing gives 6 p.m. as the last tour. The second-weekend listing gives tour hours of 1:30 to 6 p.m. but says the last tour starts at 7 p.m., so call the office to confirm before you plan a late visit on December 12 or 13. Groups of 20 or more are asked to call the office about availability, so a neighborhood group or extended-family outing should start with a phone call, not the website.
Six days after tickets go on sale, the farm hosts a smaller event aimed at adults.
November 7: The Holiday Workshop
The Friends of Quiet Valley Annual Holiday Workshop runs Saturday, November 7. Check-in and refreshments start at 9 a.m., and classes begin at 9:30. Lunch is homemade soup, bread and dessert.
This year there are two full-day options:
- Christmas "Penny" Tree, $40. Students make an 8 x 10 wall hanging, trivet or pillow from felted wool "pennies," based on the penny rugs 1800s women made from scrap wool. The class teaches blanket stitch. Sue Oiler and Ceal Yost are the instructors.
- Baking Apple Dumplings and English Muffin Bread, $60. This class covers Grammy Henning's Apple Dumplings, a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch fall dessert of biscuit dough wrapped around apples in cinnamon syrup, plus a no-knead English muffin bread. Maryellen Mross and Deb Seip are the instructors.
The page also lists half-day crafts: a painted wine-bottle light, pressed-flower coasters, a wool evergreen decoration and dried-flower wall art. Their prices weren't posted on the page we reviewed, so call the office at 570-992-6161 before you count on one. Registration is online or by phone, and Quiet Valley members get a 15% discount code by email.
The penny-rug class connects back to the farmhouse. It teaches an 1800s scrap-wool craft at a farm that has kept its 1800s rooms.
December: The 36th Old Time Christmas
Old Time Christmas runs two weekends: December 5 and 6, then December 12 and 13. The tour lasts about an hour and a half. The farm describes it as a walk through the customs of a 19th-century Pennsylvania German farm.
The stops are tied to specific rooms and buildings, which only works because those rooms survived:
- A bonfire, where groups gather.
- A live Nativity.
- The Grandaddy Cabin, with stories in front of the fireplace.
- The Cellar Kitchen, where the Belsnickel appears by hearth-light. In Pennsylvania German tradition he comes before St. Nicholas to warn the naughty and reward the nice.
- The one-room schoolhouse, with a potbelly stove and a carol sing-along.
- The Victorian parlor, which holds a Christmas Putz, a traditional miniature village scene.
- The Christmas Tree Forest, with trees sponsored by members' families and local businesses. Visitors vote for the best-decorated one.
The tour ends with free hot chocolate or warm cider and homemade cookies. The Holiday Gift Shop sells handcrafted gifts.
Both Old Time Christmas Saturdays are also holiday-show nights at the Sherman Theater, 524 Main Street. Jessica Lynn's A Very Merry Classic Christmas is listed for Saturday, December 5, and The Michael Bublé Experience: A Very Bublé Christmas for Saturday, December 12. Check the theater's listing for showtimes before planning both on the same day. An afternoon farm tour followed by an evening on Main Street is a full Stroudsburg Saturday.
The Season on One Page
| Date | Event | Price | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat.–Sun., Oct. 10–11 | 52nd Harvest Festival | $18 adults / $10 ages 3–12 | 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; no pets |
| Fri.–Sat., Oct. 23–24 | Spooky Days on the Farm | $18 / $10 | Not for under 7; bring a flashlight |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Spooky Stroudsburg, downtown | Free | 1–6 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Old Time Christmas tickets go on sale | $16 / $8 in advance | Gate price is $18 / $10 |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Holiday Workshop | $40 or $60 full day | Lunch included; members get 15% off |
| Dec. 5–6 and 12–13 | 36th Old Time Christmas | See above | Tours every 15 minutes from 1:30 p.m.; confirm the last tour time for Dec. 12–13 |
The farm says prices and schedules may change, so check each event page before you leave. The phone number for Quiet Valley's office is 570-992-6161.
If this season has you thinking about which part of the Stroudsburg area you want to call home before next year's Harvest Festival, John D Keely can help you compare homes from the borough out toward Quiet Valley Road. Let's Connect: Start Your Pocono Home Search or Request a Valuation.
