Joan Marie McKenna, of Charles Town, shares some information about Beallair Manor House with a couple of tour attendees on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

INWOOD — Hundreds of people attended the 67th annual House and Garden Tour in Berkeley County and Jefferson County over the weekend.

The tour serves as the sole fundraiser for the Shenandoah-Potomac Garden Council, which distributes the tour proceeds to the eight garden clubs within its membership throughout the year, in the form of community service project grants.

As Gateway Garden Club member Sue Ann Palmer led a tour through Marshy Glen in Gerrardstown on Saturday, she shared how her club has used the grant funding to improve the local community.

“This tour does a lot for the community. It does so much more than just show local houses,” Palmer said. “This past year, we redesigned a courtyard and garden at a nursing home in Martinsburg.”

Members of other clubs said the tour proceeds have been used to purchase the plants and equipment needed to beautify numerous libraries and community spaces throughout the region.

Charles Town resident Johanna Myers gives a tour of a bedroom in Beallair Manor House on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“It has far-reaching benefits,” Palmer said. “And it’s such a fun way to raise these funds. We get to meet so many interesting people and see inside of their homes. It’s always a delightful experience.”

According to Palmer, the tour has come to serve as a beloved yearly tradition in the Eastern Panhandle.

“It’s sort of a spring ritual,” Palmer said. “People know that it’s always the last weekend in April and they look forward to celebrating the spring by attending it every year.”

One such group of seasonal celebrants was a group of five sisters and their sister-in-law, who could be found roaming the grounds of Prospect Hall in Middleway on Saturday afternoon.

“She buys the tickets for us as our birthday gifts for the year,” said Martinsburg resident Deborah Baker, of her sister, Patty Nisewarner.

A manicured garden and shed stand above a stream, on the lawn of Marshy Glen on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Along with the fact that they enjoy viewing beautiful houses and gardens and learning about their history, Nisewarner said she purchases the tickets because going on the tour together is a way to honor their mother’s memory.

“She started coming on the tour, back when we were raising kids. Of course, with our responsibilities at home at the time, we couldn’t join her on the tour,” Nisewarner said, noting that this was the largest group that has come on the tour from her family — the only siblings missing from the tour were their brother and one sister, who lives in another state. “It’s a wonderful way to spend time together.”

The sisters said they were breaking up the tour over Saturday and Sunday, as visiting all of the locations — the Meyers House in Beddington, The Faulkner House in Martinsburg, Beallair Manor House in Charles Town, Long Meadow Farm in Shehperdstown, Marshy Glen and Prospect Hall — was impossible to accomplish in one day.

Shepherdstown residents John and Tina Barton agreed that participating in the tour was a two-day experience, especially for those who wanted to learn about each location in-depth.

“It’s such a treat to be able to see these places that not many people get to see,” John said. “It’s lovely that the home owners are willing to do this.”

Charles Town resident Katie Bopp, right, leads a tour through a room on the first floor of Beallair Manor House on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

The couple started off the tour at Long Meadow Farm — a home they had never seen before, in spite of living near it for many years.

“The history here is wonderful. We loved learning about it. So many times, people around here are focused on the Civil War, but the history of this area goes so much further back,” Tina said, noting some of the homes were built around the time of the Revolutionary War. “There are so many hidden gems across the county.”

Beallair Manor House, which dates back to the time of the Revolutionary War, is one of seven homes associated with the Washington family in the Eastern Panhandle. Photo by Tabitha Johnston