The Langhorne Hotel's restaurant and bar at Maple and Bellevue avenues served its last meals under the Asta family in July. It sits in the middle of the borough, and the year's last 150th-anniversary events are planned within a short walk of its door. Dickens Night fills Bellevue Avenue a block away in December. The Holiday House Tour's Country Store opens a few steps up Bellevue at Richardson House. When the hotel reopens, its new owners plan to give it a name taken from what bucksco.today calls the area's original name, Four Lanes End.
The anniversary marks the year the town took the name "Langhorne." Through the holidays, though, the calendar keeps returning to an older one.
What 1876 Actually Named
The Langhorne Borough 150th anniversary page explains the date. In 1876 the Bound Brook Railroad Company built tracks a mile south of the town, which was then called Attleborough. The railroad's president named the new station "Langhorne" after Thomas Langhorne, who owned the land it stood on. Soon after, Attleborough changed its own name to match. That change honored Thomas's son Jeremiah Langhorne, the first Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
So the 150th is the anniversary of a name, not of the borough government. A Bucks County GenWeb municipal history listing puts the borough's incorporation two years earlier, in 1874. The borough describes this year's celebration as covering everything from the Lenni-Lenape to the town's hopes for the future, and it is running alongside the country's 250th.
The name being celebrated came from a railroad. Many of the groups closing out the year go back further than that.
Four Lanes End Never Left
The Four Lanes End Garden Club was founded in 1957 to promote gardening, floral design and community involvement. It still carries the old name, and it is the group behind one of the borough's best-known holiday traditions.
Then the hotel changed hands. The Asta family ran the Langhorne Hotel for 54 years. Its last full day of business was Saturday, July 18, and a farewell gathering followed on Sunday, July 19, according to LevittownNow. Joe and Megan Kontz bought the property and announced plans to restore its historic architecture. They also want to add high-quality dining, updated rooms and refreshed spaces. LevittownNow reported that the building holds the restaurant and bar, a 16-car parking lot, a one-bedroom apartment, a two-bedroom apartment and 12 guest rooms.
The couple described their plans in a statement quoted by bucksco.today:
"Our vision is simple: preserve what makes the Langhorne Hotel special while investing in its future. Our goal is not simply to renovate a building, but to breathe new life into a local landmark."
The same August 15 article called the building 322 years old. It said the new name will draw on Four Lanes End, and that the Kontzes were aiming for late 2026 without having announced a specific reopening date. That timeline was their stated goal as of mid-August. The building that has carried the Langhorne name for decades is set to return under the older one.
November 19 and the 64th House Tour
The Garden Club's Holiday House Tour & Tea reaches its 64th year on Thursday, November 19. It ties directly into the anniversary. The club says the 2026 theme draws on the events, music and everyday life of the 150/250 period.
The format is the same as in past years. Several private homes in Langhorne open for a self-guided visit, each decorated for the season by club members with floral arrangements, fresh greenery and holiday displays. The club notes that many of the homes are historic properties in town. Tea and homemade cookies are served at Middletown Country Club, and handcrafted items are sold at the Country Store inside Richardson House.
The tour is the club's largest fundraiser of the year. The proceeds go to three things:
- Community beautification projects
- Upkeep of the historic Richardson House
- Scholarships and charitable programs in the local community
Ticket details and the list of homes are on the club's site, which is the place to check before the 19th.
Richardson House Holds the Season Together
The second item on that list matters for the rest of the calendar. A group named for Four Lanes End helps pay to maintain Richardson House, and Richardson House keeps showing up as the anniversary's home base.
On October 10, the borough buried a 150th-anniversary time capsule at Richardson House, meant to be opened in 50 years. Right after the ceremony, the Langhorne Council for the Arts ran Porch Fest from noon to 5 p.m., with bands on six porches around the borough and free admission. In November, the Garden Club's Country Store fills the house. In December, Dickens Night sets up on Bellevue Avenue between Maple and Richardson.
The Langhorne Borough Business Association runs Dickens Night. Its event page lists Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. and says more details for 2026 are coming. The LBBA's Dickens Night page is the place to watch for the full program.
The Rest of the Year, in Order
The borough's October–December calendar keeps the same dates the July version listed.
| Date | Event | Where | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | 64th Holiday House Tour & Tea | Private homes, Richardson House, Middletown Country Club | Four Lanes End Garden Club |
| Sat.–Sun., Nov. 28–29 | Christmas Tree & Wreath Sale | Heritage Farm, 222 North Green Street | Langhorne Open Space |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Dickens Night, 6–9 p.m. | Bellevue Avenue between Maple and Richardson | Langhorne Borough Business Association |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 5–6 | Christmas Tree & Wreath Sale continues | Heritage Farm | Langhorne Open Space |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 5–6 | Langhorne Christmas Village | Langhorne Brewery & Martini Bar, 1548 W Maple Ave. | Listed by Bucks County Parent |
Heritage Farm is the borough's other historic property in the mix. The borough appointed Langhorne Open Space, Inc. to maintain the eight-acre farm at 222 North Green Street, including its farmhouse, barns and outbuildings. At the Langhorne Open Space Christmas tree sale, trees run from tabletop size up to 10 feet. Fresh fir wreaths are decorated by the farm's own Wreathmakers. Like the house tour, the sale is a fundraiser, so the money stays with the group that looks after the property.
The Langhorne Christmas Village on the same weekend lists 25-plus vendors, food and festive drinks, children's crafts, music bingo, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus. If weather interferes, the backup dates are December 12 and 13.
Who Is Carrying the Anniversary
Look at who runs the last stretch of the 150th. It is a garden club from 1957 that kept the older name, an open space nonprofit looking after an eight-acre farm, and a business association closing off a block of Bellevue Avenue. The borough credits its planning committee, its boards and committees, and local churches and organizations for the year's events. Several of those groups are fundraising to maintain the historic buildings where the events take place.
The hotel at Maple and Bellevue is expected to rejoin that group under a Four Lanes End name. The owners' late-2026 target dates from August, and the borough's calendar runs through the Heritage Farm sale on December 6.
I've lived in Yardley since 1985, and some of my favorite Bucks County traditions are the small-town ones like Langhorne's house tour and Dickens Night. If you'd like a few thoughts on which historic streets to walk this season, or what the hotel's restoration could mean for the blocks around it, Amy VanDenburgh is glad to talk Langhorne any time. Let's Connect.
