In November 2005, fliers went out to "local customers and friends" of America's First Christmas Store. They announced an invitation-only going-out-of-business sale starting on Black Friday, and the message was blunt: "We are closing our doors forever." The Bradford Era reported the sale on Nov. 22, 2005, in a story reprinted on the Planet Smethport history site. The paper quoted owners Greg and Dee Buchanan, who hoped to sell the building and the business. A 2022 ANF Visitors Bureau feature says the store flourished until 2006, when the owners were forced to close it.
Two decades on, the season most residents actually go to doesn't happen in a store at all. It happens at Hamlin Lake Park, the fire hall, and on the front porches entered in an American Legion contest. Volunteers run it, and much of it sits along West Water Street.
The Corner at West Main and Mechanic
The corner had a past before the Christmas store. Planet Smethport's history of the block lists an Opera House on the site from 1880 to 1898, an Opera House fire in 1898, and the Hamilton Building in 1903.
In 1932, Leonard Brynolf Johnson rented the Hamilton Building from the Hamilton family. He opened Johnson Pharmacy and a business that made Christmas displays, and he put the Christmas Store in the former hardware store space. Planet Smethport's page on the store's founding says Johnson's outdoor displays were known nationally by 1935. Smethport's spot on US Route 6 and a national advertising campaign helped make the store a major tourist attraction.
A 2022 feature by Linda Devlin of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau adds some background. Johnson was a druggist who went west looking for gold, came back to Smethport without it, and set up a corner storefront with a drugstore on one side and handmade Christmas displays on the other. Today, Johnson's displays are sought-after antiques.
The founding date shows up two ways. The business started in 1932. The 2005 article called the store "a fixture on U.S. Route 6 since 1935," which counts from the year the displays became nationally known. Both dates are correct. They're marking different milestones.
The Line That Called It in 2005
In that 2005 Bradford Era story, as reprinted by Planet Smethport, Ross Porter, then mayor-elect and a local historian, said this:
"What's being sold are Christmas ornaments and displays. The actual concept, that's the town's."
In the same article, Porter said he expected "some form of the Christmas Store" to survive, with its traditions tied to Smethport's future. Devlin told the paper the store had been "an icon for our area for over 70 years." State Rep. Martin Causer said he had seen tour buses parked out front and called the closing "a huge blow to tourism."
The timing made it worse. Devlin pointed out that the region hadn't recovered from the 2003 tornado that destroyed more than half of the Kinzua Viaduct. That tornado had already cut off the motor coach tours that crossed the viaduct and then stopped at places like the Christmas Store.
Porter's prediction turned out to be correct. Other people just carried it out in other places.
The Name Moves to Water Street
The name came back in 2022, a few blocks away. In November 2022, the ANF Visitors Bureau announced that a new America's First Christmas Store would open Nov. 8 at 113 W. Water St., inside Old Town Smethport. The announcement listed:
- Old World Christmas ornaments and Christopher Radko ornaments
- Fontanini nativity sets
- Snow globes and handcrafted wooden decorations
- Lamps, mugs and seasonal home décor
- Seasonal hours that year of Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Old Town Smethport was a museum-style space with history displays. Devlin's earlier 2022 write-up describes a real stagecoach, a Civil War cannon, a log cabin, a working General Store, a display about the Bucktail Regiment, and a case of toys from Smethport Specialty Toys, where Wooly Willy was invented in 1955.
The building has changed again since then. The ANF Visitors Bureau's 2026 Smethport page calls it "Previously known as Old Town Smethport, The Cottage House Restaurant." It mentions the French onion soup, hand-cut steaks and local wine pairings, plus the Cottage House Executive Suites upstairs with a balcony over Hamlin Lake. The page doesn't mention the Christmas shop. If you want to know whether ornaments are still sold there this season, call the restaurant at 814-568-2091 before you go. The Cottage House website has the current menu.
On the borough's dining page, the business appears as Cottage House Wine & Spirits at 333 W. Water St., with the same phone number, open for lunch and dinner and closed Mondays. The tourism listings put it at 113.
How Last December Actually Ran
Last year is the best guide to this year. The Bradford Era's Dec. 4, 2025 holiday roundup listed Smethport's events packed into a few days early in the month, with one more date in mid-December.
| 2025 date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 4 | Smethport Fire Hall Christmas Bingo | Smethport Fire Hall | Doors at 5, games at 6, door prizes, kitchen open |
| Thu., Dec. 4 | Sign-up deadline, Christmas Lights and Decoration Contest | Hosted by American Legion Auxiliary Unit 138 | Second annual contest |
| Sat., Dec. 6 | Christmas in Smethport Light Up Nite | Hamlin Lake Park | 3 to 5 p.m., town tree lit at 5:15 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 6 | Ride Into Christmas ATV Parade | Pool side of town to Smethport Fire Department | 6 to 7 p.m., fifth year |
| Tue., Dec. 9 | Teddy Bear Toss | Smethport High School | Boys' varsity vs. Coudersport, 7:30 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 14 | Contest judging | American Legion Auxiliary Unit 138 contest | Judged by local senior volunteers |
Light Up Nite was the main event of the season. It had hayrides, photos with Santa, food, caroling and, in the Bradford Era's words, "lots of playing in the snow (weather permitting)." An event listing gave the park's address as 601 W. Water St. That puts the tree lighting and the address that once held the revived Christmas Store on the same street.
Saturday was set up so you could go straight from one event to the next. The tree was lit at 5:15, and the ATV parade started 45 minutes later. The parade runs from the pool side of town to the Smethport Fire Department, where Santa waited with warm drinks and snacks. The Bradford Era described it as a parade of ATVs "of all shapes and sizes." That suits a county seat surrounded by trail country.
The contest works differently from the other events. It brings the season out to residents' own front yards. The Legion Auxiliary awarded prizes for first, second and third place, and the sign-up deadline was the same day as the fire hall bingo. If you plan to decorate for it this year, watch for the deadline in early December.
The Teddy Bear Toss gets less attention but is easy to join. Bring a new stuffed animal to the Smethport vs. Coudersport boys' basketball game, get in free, and throw the toy onto the court at halftime.
Who Hosts What
The groups behind these events are the same local organizations that run the rest of the year: the fire company, the Legion Auxiliary, and the high school basketball program. The Bradford Era said Light Up the Night was hosted by the Smethport Area Chamber of Commerce back in 2017. In 2022, Solomon's Words reported that Smethport Borough would hold the Ride into Christmas ATV parade that year, on a Thursday in mid-December. The 2025 roundup didn't name organizers for either event. To find this year's dates, check the borough's community calendar and local papers as December gets closer.
A Short Walk Between the Two Eras
You can see both eras in one December walk. Start at West Main and Mechanic, where Johnson's corner storefront drew tour buses off Route 6 for more than 70 years and where the 2005 article said apartments sat above the store. Then go to 113 W. Water St., where the name came back in 2022 and the Cottage House serves dinner today. Finish at Hamlin Lake Park in time to see the tree lit. The ANF Visitors Bureau's walking tour of the Mansion District, with 32 preserved homes from the lumber, oil and banking boom, can fill the afternoon beforehand.
Do you own one of the older buildings along Main Street or in the Mansion District and want to know how its history affects its value today? Call MVR Coudy at Mountain Valley Realty. Talk to a local agent who knows what's on those corners.
