A prominent builder in Fredericksburg during the early 20th century, Peck Heflin’s distinctive architectural style will be highlighted in homes and commercial buildings spanning four decades. The tour will potentially focus on Heflin homes in the Charlotte Street, Cornell Street, and College Terrace areas. Outdoor stops will be strategically placed in these areas to enhance the historical contributions of Peck Heflin.

The Saturday evening tour will include a visit to a Washington Avenue home and a walk along downtown Fredericksburg, with drinks and history. The traditional cocktail party will be replaced with a pub crawl in order to showcase a few of the numerous commercial buildings Peck Heflin contributed to Fredericksburg’s downtown. Drink tickets for each restaurant and live entertainment are included.

The HFFI Holiday Candlelight Tour is a Fredericksburg Tradition – a legacy of the vision of a dedicated group of local young women.

The year was 1971. The recently former Junior Board of Historic Fredericksburg, Inc. was searching for a new source of money to support the preservation organization. Mary Wynn McDaniel, chair of the board’s Ways and Means Committee at the time, remembers that the idea of a holiday tour was viewed as a promising new  way to raise money. However, instead of hosting it in the spring, which would compete with the Virginia Garden Week Tour and divide precious volunteer resources, this new event would debut in the winter when people wouldn’t be interested in gardens. As recounted by Mrs. Daniel, it was particularly comforting for these early tour organizers that “in daylight, there were a lot of things you didn’t want people to see: candlelight meant that your didn’t need perfection.”

The fledgling group of nearly 50 women- ages 22 to 39 according to the bylaws- quickly got to work. Mrs. Daniels recalls, “We were young and interested in doing things the right way.” Evidence of their dedication to high quality were trips by Junior Board members to Colonial Williamsburg to research Christmas foods and punch to serve during the tour.

One of the most challenging tasks in those early years – as it is still today – was convincing local residents to open their homes to the public. But generous homeowners, willing to support what was then known as “Historic Fredericksburg”, opened their houses to make the fundraising event possible. Mary Wynn and her husband, Charles McDaniel, offered their home, the Sentry Box, at 133 Caroline Street. Grace Spicer, senior advisor to the Junior Board, agreed to open her house across the street at 136 Caroline. They convinced other neighbors to sign on, and soon the first Historic Fredericksburg Tour was set.