This Bucks County village started as a chicken farm, and now millions visit it for free

Bucks County’s storybook destination

About 40 miles north of Philadelphia, a 42-acre spread of colonial buildings, brick walkways and award-winning gardens sits in the middle of Lahaska, a small community in Bucks County.

Peddler’s Village draws millions of visitors a year, and every one of them walks in free. The grounds stay open year-round, and so do the festivals.

New York City is only 80 miles to the northeast, which puts this place within easy reach of two major metros. What started here in 1962, though, is a story that begins with chickens.

A chicken hatchery became a family legacy

Back in 1962, a Bucks County native named Earl Jamison bought a run-down property at the crossroads of Routes 202, 263 and Street Road. Locals called it “Hentown” because of the chicken hatchery and coops.

Jamison turned those barns into 14 shops and opened the Cock ‘n Bull Restaurant on just six acres. His family knew the hospitality business.

In 1763, Henry Jamison ran a tavern on the stagecoach line between Philadelphia and New York. Today the village covers 42 acres, and Earl’s daughter, Donna Jamison Cave, took over as CEO in 2025.

Clapboard siding and hand-painted signs line every path

Every building here echoes 18th-century colonial America.

You’ll see clapboard siding, wooden shutters and hand-painted signs on storefronts built close together along winding paths. No parking lots cut through the village center.

The whole property runs on foot traffic. Stone retaining walls and natural fencing frame the walkways, and seasonal plantings change the look through the year.

Window boxes fill with flowers in summer, wreaths hang on doors in winter, and lanterns glow at dusk no matter what month you visit.

Thousands of Dutch tulips bloom here every spring

Earl Jamison and his wife Sheila were both horticulturists, and they designed the grounds to blend with the natural landscape.

After a trip to Holland in the late 1960s, Earl worked with Dutch tulip growers to test hybrid bulbs right here in the village. Every spring, thousands of tulips and hanging baskets of pansies take over.

Summer brings carefully selected flowering annuals, and winter wraps the whole place in a million twinkling lights.

In 2003, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society gave Peddler’s Village a Suburban Greening Award for outstanding public planting.

Water flows from the Grist Mill down a boulder-strewn stream

Earl Jamison built the Grist Mill and waterwheel in 1973 with help from local architect Alfred N. Boell and wood craftsman Ray Nadjinski. They designed and built the mill in authentic colonial style.

Water recirculates from the waterwheel down a boulder-strewn stream, winding through flowering trees and evergreens before ending at a pond near the Village Green.

The waterwheel got a full restoration in 2006 and still works today. A historical marker at the site tells the whole story of its construction and restoration.

A 1922 carousel sat in storage for 13 years

Giggleberry Fair houses a fully restored 1922 Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, designated PTC #59.

The Philadelphia Toboggan Company produced 89 carousels during the golden age of carousel-making, and only 26 still exist.

PTC #59 first showed up at the National Association of Amusement Parks convention in Chicago in 1922, then traveled to parks in Pottsville, Pa., Worcester, Mass., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Panama City, Fla. By 1985, someone stripped the original figures and put the whole thing in storage, where it sat until 1998.

Horses with real hair tails and 30 glass jewels each

Earl Jamison found PTC #59 in rough shape in 1998 and brought in master carver Ed Roth to custom-carve 46 new figures in basswood using traditional techniques.

The horses have real horse-hair tails and 30 glass jewels each. You’ll also spot a lion, a giraffe, bunnies and a spotted pig on the ride.

Workers restored or re-manufactured more than 3,000 individual parts.

Tin vaulted ceilings painted sky blue hang overhead, 36 oil-painted landscape panels line the walls, and more than 950 clear light bulbs keep the whole thing lit up.

Three stories of rope bridges and foam ball blasters

Giggleberry Fair is Bucks County’s indoor family entertainment center, and the carousel is only part of it.

Giggleberry Mountain rises three stories and six levels inside, packed with netting mazes, rope bridges, slides and foam ball blasters.

Younger kids get their own space at Giggles Discovers, where imaginative play stations keep them busy. A family-friendly cafe inside serves meals and snacks, so you don’t have to leave when someone gets hungry.

Birthday parties and group events run here regularly.

Free strawberry treats and a watermelon-eating contest

Every festival at Peddler’s Village is free and open to the public.

The Strawberry Festival has run each May since 1978, with strawberry-themed treats, live music and family activities.

Summer stacks up fast with the Bluegrass and Blueberries festival in July and the Peach Festival in August.

The Red, White, and Blueberries BBQ Bash on the Fourth of July brings live entertainment and a watermelon-eating contest.

November’s Apple Festival hit its 50th edition in 2025, making it one of the longest-running events on the grounds.

Hundreds of handmade scarecrows take over the village each fall

Every fall, area residents and organizations build hundreds of scarecrows and display them across the grounds for Scarecrows in the Village. You vote for your favorites, and winners take home cash prizes.

Scarecrow-making workshops run on select weekends if you want to try it yourself. When November arrives, the Grand Illumination Celebration flips the switch on a million lights across the property.

Then the Gingerbread Competition fills the Visitor and Event Center with more than 100 handmade gingerbread creations from mid-November through mid-January.

PEEPS marshmallow sculptures and sand art the size of cars

PEEPS in the Village, now in its seventh year, fills the grounds with sculptures, dioramas and wall art all made from PEEPS marshmallow candy.

The Best of the Nest Birdhouse Competition, run with AIA Bucks County and Honey Hollow Nature Center, puts dozens of handcrafted birdhouses on display each spring.

Since 2022, world-renowned master sand sculptors have built larger-than-life sand sculptures across the village. The 2026 edition, Sights in Sand: American Road Trip, celebrates America’s 250th birthday.

Kids get sandboxes throughout the grounds to build their own.

Brick paths that loop past the gazebo and Village Green

The whole place is designed for wandering. Interconnected brick paths loop and curve so you keep finding something new around the next corner.

Benches sit along the walkways for resting, people-watching or eating whatever you just bought. The Village Green and Gazebo went in during the mid-1980s and now anchor entertainment and seasonal events.

Strollers roll through easily, and the property works for visitors of all ages. No traffic noise, no visual clutter.

You just walk, and the village keeps going.

Explore Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, Pennsylvania

You can find Peddler’s Village at the intersection of Routes 202 and 263 and Street Road in Lahaska, Pa. The village sits open year-round, and shops and restaurants run daily.

New Hope is just a few minutes away if you want to explore more of the Delaware River area. Download the mobile app before you go.

It gives you an interactive map, shop coupons and a village-wide scavenger hunt that keeps the kids moving while you browse.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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