The program of Historical Walking Tours was proposed and organized in 1990 by Paul Burton, during his tenure as Foundation president.  Burton felt it would be a good idea to introduce visitors to Ephraim and the museums "up close and personal," so that they might have a better understanding and appreciation of Ephraim's past and present.  Perhaps inspired in part by the self-guided History Walks that Helen Sohns, Florence Wilterding, and Nancy Davis organized so successfully in the early 1980's, Paul laid out a walking route through the village that the Tours still follow today.

Bill Price, Jean Reynolds, and Gib Stannard were the original walking tour guides, and they were joined in 1992 by Weed Vail.  Bill coordinated the tours from 1990 until 2005, and created a comprehensive script for the tours.  He spent many hours researching, updating, and revising that script over the years, so that the information in it was as accurate as possible.  Tour guides, Foundation members, and Village residents still supply new information about Ephraim history that is incorporated into Bill's original outline and is still referred to frequently.

The first group of tour guides was soon joined by Ellie Pearson, Bonnie Rock, and Peter Foote.  Others who subsituted or led special tours included Tank Sholem, Chris Christeson, Paul Burton, and Nancy Davis.

Through the years the popularity of the Walks continued to grow, and the number of tours increased from two to three times per week on a regularly scheduled basis.  In 2004 that number was increased to four per week, and that continues to be the schedule.  The number of people taking the tour grew to a high of 583 in 2002 and now averages approximately 500 people per season.

In 2002 Tad Dukehart, Don Nelson, and David Bell joined the group of guides giving regular tours, and in 2005 Marsella Fults and Jim Reeve were added to the roster.

The Walking Tours have become one of the Foundation's most successful and popular programs, due in large measure to the dedicated and knowledgeable Volunteer Guides that are so committed to sharing the wonderful history of Ephraim with our visitors.  In addition to being so knowledgeable, each Tour guide makes a conscious effort to personalize the history of Ephraim, interacting with visitors by adding personal recollections or stories of family connections to their tours.

For the Summer 2010 season, Historic Walking Tours are scheduled for Tuesdays through Fridays at 10:30 am, leaving from the Anderson Barn History Center -- beginning Friday, June 18.  To celebrate Fyr Bal weekend, there will be a special Saturday walking tour on Saturday, June 19.  The Fall 2010 Walking Tour days have been revised.  They will leave from the Anderson Barn History Center, Fridays & Saturdays at 10:30 am beginning Friday, September 10 through Saturday, October 9. 

Each tour takes approximately 1 1/2 hours to complete and covers about a mile and a half.  No two tours and no two guides are ever the same, so even if you have taken a tour in the past, treat yourself to another!