MARCELLUS — A festival for Cass County families to both celebrate the fall season and county history will be hosted this weekend.

The Cass County Historical Society will host its annual Newton House Harvest Festival from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The event will feature hayrides, a petting zoo, tours of the historic Newton House and its cupola, and light refreshments including donuts, apple cider, punch and cookies. The Newton House is located between Dowagiac and Marcellus at 20689 Marcellus Highway, east of Decatur Road.

“[The festival] is a fun tradition,” said Dowagiac resident Sue Wilder, treasurer of the Cass County Historical Society and organizer of the festival.

The Newton House is leased by the Cass County Historical Society and was the home of George and Esther Newton. The original section of the household was built around 1840 by George’s father, James Newton. Between 1868 and 1870, George added a two-story addition and a cupola.

The present-day existence of the Newton Woods — Fred Russ Forest — is primarily due to the Newton family’s ownership and maintenance for 99 years beginning in 1832, according to materials provided by the Cass County Historical Society. The family reportedly refused for generations to allow it to be cut for timber or cleared for farming. Eventually, two 80-acre tracts of the land were sold, and Cassopolis resident Fred Russ purchased the remaining 580 acres. In 1943, Russ sold the estate to Michigan State University for educational purposes. MSU still owns the land to this day. The Newton House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Wilder said the festival, which she has been involved in for the last decade, serves as a way for the Cass County Historical Society to say “thank you” to the Cass County community.

“It’s always good to let the community know we appreciate their support in preserving the history of Cass County,” Wilder said.

Wilder also said she believes the festival to be important because it celebrates the history of the Newton House and Cass County.

“If you don’t preserve the history, nobody knows where things came from, how things evolved, how we came about,” she said. “I know I drive by homes of obvious historical value, and say, ‘I wonder who lived there. I wonder what they did. I wonder if their family still lives there.’ History is keeping people informed.”

Wilder said she would encourage anyone in the Cass County community to attend Sunday’s Newton House Harvest Festival, adding that anyone who visits will get a taste of local history.

“It’s a fun ‘thank you’ to the community,” she said.