- The Jackson Mansion was constructed between the years of 1877 and 1879.

It was designed by its owner, Colonel Clarence Gerhardt Jackson.

Colonel Jackson enlisted in the Civil War in 1862.

He was taken prisoner and while at Libby Prison, he asked guards for pencil and paper and sketched out the plans for a dream mansion he hoped to one day build.

The stone for the mansion was brought here from Vermont, brought down in the winter months, because the weight of the stone was too heavy for wagons, so it needed to be brought to Berwick on large sleighs.

The house contains 22 rooms with seven fireplaces and elaborately carved woodwork.

When Colonel Jackson moved into this house the spring of 1879, he was very pleased and happy with what he had created.

Sadly, he didn't get to enjoy his mansion for very long.

He would pass away in 1880, only having lived here a few months.

He was 38 years old and had died from the complications from wounds he received during the Civil War.

The main grand staircase is made of walnut, was all hand carved by two men from Catawissa.

They carved 75 Corinthian columns.

- I started working at the Mansion in 2010, after I came to a Christmas tour here.

And I was just so fascinated with the whole thing and how gorgeous it was, and I thought this would be wonderful for me to come.

I love history, and I would like to tell people all about what Berwick has here in this Jackson mansion.

This is the Jackson Family Parlor, and this is where Mrs. Jackson and the daughters would've spent so much time doing needle work, board games.

She would've been teaching them the piano.

(cheerful piano music) Tete a tete at the end of the room, that's where the gentleman would sit in one seat and the lady in the other, and they could court and be close, but not too close.

In Mrs. Jackson's bedroom, we have her bed, dresser, and fire screen.

She would entertain her lady friends in this room.

In the beginning, all her woodwork was dark, but when Colonel Jackson passed away, she wanted to lighten everything up so she had everything painted light.

- [Jim] This is a third floor billiard room.

The table is an 1867, completely restored billiard table.

This room only gets opened once or twice a year.

We do have limited tours of the third floor space, just because we're still working on restoration here.

This room is the Jackson Mansion formal parlor.

When it was completed in 1879, it was proclaimed to be the finest parlor in all of Northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

One of the greatest features in the room is the original wedding cake chandelier.

We had the fixture completely restored.

It still boasts all of its original crystal prisms.

- [Susan] We are in the formal dining room, doubled as a ballroom.

When the Jacksons were having large parties, they would use the table and they could have up to 18 courses.

The harp is made by Sebastian Arid and he was the maker of the harps for the King of France, patented in 1811, and there are only three in existence, and we happen to have one.

When the Jacksons were having large parties, they would move the table and couples would come in here and they would have elaborate dances and parties.

It was a big social time for the Jacksons.

- [Jim] I think maintaining history is very, very important.

The reason restoration work is so important and history is so important, it allows the modern generation to be able to look to the past, to learn from the past, and just get a glimpse into what life was like in a much earlier, simpler time.

(gentle piano music)