A Dickens Christmas

Cambridge, Ohio, is a small town just off of I 77 and a little north of I 70. Their Christmas tradition includes decorations from the Victorian age, the time when Dickens was writing his famous A Christmas Carol.


Along their main street are mannequins dressed in the clothes of the period and each grouping depicts a particular position in the era's London population. There are lamplighters, beggars, church goers, apple sellers, carolers, etc. Each grouping has a little plaque explaining a bit about the display.


The whole project, began by local businessman and artist, Bob Ley, was started in 2006. Each mannequin was sculpted and painted by the members of the Eastern Ohio Art Guild. There are now over 92 scenes of 166 lifelike characters.

We didn't have the time to take in all of them as we were on our way south with several more hours of driving ahead of us. It would probably take at least a couple of hours to see them all.


There is a trolley tour available on some weekends but a good stroll down the main street and some stops along the way for a coffee and lunch would make a wonderful day trip for the Dickens' fan.