Sophia Coxe home in Drifton to be opened to public

A Freeland area woman couldnt believe her luck: After more than 60 years of traveling by the Sophia Coxe home in Drifton, she was finally standing inside.

She told us that she had always wondered what it was like inside, said Bryan Dunnigan, recalling a conversation with the woman during a December open house at the Victorian residence.

Others were just as enthusiastic, said Dunnigan, a co-founder and president of the Sophia Coxe Memorial Foundation and Education Center, which plans to open the house on a regular basis for educational tours and classes.

People were just literally taken back because the house itself is a walk back in time here, it really is, said Dunnigan, of West Hazleton. You have to realize that 90 percent of what you see here is what was here when (Sophia) was here.

The 1869 home was a wedding gift from engineer and mine owner Eckley B. Coxe to his bride, Sophia Georgiana Fisher Coxe. Eckley died in 1895 and Sophia stayed in the home until her death in 1926.

At that point, the property became part of the Sophia Coxe Trust and served as a respite for women. When the respite closed, the home was opened only occasionally for special events.

The foundation plans to open the home on weekends beginning in May, and can accommodate requests for group tours. Tours are led by guides dressed in period attire and end with hot tea and cookies.

Educational classes and special events have begun for the year, and include pen-and-ink classes and An Afternoon with Mother Jones this month. Upcoming classes will include blacksmithing, engraving, spinning, weaving, sewing, art and gardening.

Members are also planning to create a community garden, where folks can rent space to grow crops. They are also planning to rent the large grove behind the home for picnics and gatherings.

The nonprofit organization was incorporated last year after Dunnigan and co-founder Karen Esak established an agreement with property owners, MMI Preparatory School and Sophia Coxe Trust.

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Sophia Coxe home in Drifton to be opened to public