Newtown Historical Society's 20th Annual House and Garden Tour will feature five unique private properties in Newtown and Sandy Hook, as well as The Dooryard Garden of The Matthew Curtiss House-Museum on Main Street.

The self-guided tour will take place on Sunday, June 26, rain or shine from 11 am to 5 pm.

These fine properties include one of the oldest homes in Newtown with timber frame construction built by the Crofut family in 1691. The original chestnut floorboards and five original fireplaces are a reminder of its history. French family portraits and heirlooms line the walls and fill the rooms in this old house. The owners describe their home as "modern living in an antique home."

The property's gardens tempt visitors to explore five acres of lovely landscaped gardens.

The second offering is a 1790s Colonial farmhouse nestled among the trees. This home sits on five acres with a lovely stream in a landscaped setting, complete with a hand-laid stone path that leads to the entry.

In the living room guests will notice hand-stenciled walls, while the dining room has original floors, some barked beams, and the Leon Bourguenez family name written across an upper beam.

A 1790s farmhouse with center chimney combines hints of decorated whimsy among nods to bygone eras. Each room is unlike the next with an eclectic mixture of antiques and taxidermy dressed for fun amid modern design, and wonderful family and found items.

The kitchen and breakfast room features original flooring and beamed ceilings, and the large fireplace has a beehive oven.

Outside is a large bluestone patio with a raised circular herb garden, an expansive lawn, and a pond giving the feeling of tranquility in a wetland setting.

Elsewhere, antiques and vintage goods furnish a 1930s Cape Cod home on three acres of extensive gardens. Upon entering the driveway, ticket-holders will pass a row of weeping peach trees leading toward the main garden located in the back of the house. There is a tall antique obelisk planted with deer resistant plants, and the main garden contains additional perennials.

There is also a woodland garden and large blueberry bushes at this location. It has a stone fire pit and a lovely Koi pond with a small tranquil waterfall. The property also contains several additional buildings including a cottage and an additional home.

The final last home is a 1767 saltbox house that captures all that a country home should be including some ghostly guests. The house has many nooks and crannies and has been added onto many times. It is decorated with items that represents the family's love of nature.

The master suite was built from a large 1857 chicken coop acquired in Massachusetts. A trap door in the ceiling opens up to the cupola, and the shower surround is constructed from the coop's original fencing.

The gardens surrounding the house are equally as nice, and capture the essence of this country home.

The Dooryard Garden of The Matthew Curtiss House Museum was designed, planted and maintained by The Garden Club of Newtown. The garden contains plant varieties that reflect a family's culinary, household, and medicinal needs of the 1700s and early 1800s era.

Advance tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children ages 8-12, and can be purchased at The UPS Store, 261 South Main Street in Newtown; C. H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; The Toy Tree, 14 Church Hill Road; and online at newtownhistory.org.

On the day of the tour, tickets will be $30 for adults and $15 for children, and will only be available from 10 am until 2 pm, in front of The Matthew Curtiss House Museum, at 44 Main Street.

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