Spring Tour of Homes has new schedule; Holly Ridge in Sandtown will be featured

Holly Ridge - Home of Roger and Vivian WalkerThe Washington-Wilkes Spring Tour of Homes 2007 will have a different schedule this year from years past.
Both the Day Tour and the Candlelight Tour will be held on Saturday. There will be no tours on Friday or Sunday.
The tours will be held on Saturday, March 31, with the Day Tour hours being 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and the Candlelight Tour, 6-9 p.m.
The homes on the Day Tour are Dawn and Sam Moore on the Tignall Road; Vinnie and Rod Dowling (Anderson home) at Danburg; Virginia Lee King and Skeet Willingham on West Robert Toombs Avenue, Washington; Vivian and Roger Walker (Holly Ridge), Sandtown; Archie and Chrean Brown, Court Street.
There will be four homes on the Candlelight Tour. The home of Allan and Sharlene Zima at 206 South Alexander Avenue, Washington (across the street from Laura and Dave Toburen).. The Zimas are newcomers to Washington-Wilkes and the house is a newcomer to the tour circuit. The other three homes on the Candlelight Tour are also newcomers and include the homes of Shane and Amy W. Moore on the Tignall Road; the Nash-Wills House on East Robert Toombs Avenue; Billy and Rosemary Caddell on the Tignall Road.
Headquarters for the tour will be at the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School on East Street.
The Kiwanis Club will be driving courtesy cars to provide transportation to the various locations.
There is no Dessert Soiree this year. Shops on The Square will be open on Friday evening, March 30, to provide a "Taste of Washington."
The always-popular Woman's Club Seated Luncheon will be available for $10 each with reservations required. The First United Methodist Church will be open for buffet lunch.
The Washington Little Theater Company will be presenting the musical "Gypsy" on Friday and Saturday nights, March 30 and 31, at 8 p.m.; and again on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Debbie McLeod will be the star of the musical which is directed by Sue Davidson. Musical direction will be by Mrs. McLeod, and Cynthia Aultman will be doing the choreography. Reservations are recommended for the performances and may be made by calling 706- 678-9582.
Churches, museums, and historical sites will be open on Friday and Saturday, and also on Sunday. Downtown shops will be open on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The First Baptist Church will be presenting a pre-Easter musical drama on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.
Any tour home may be visited individually by paying $5 at the door.
Cost for the Day Tour (six homes) is $25; Candlelight Tour (four homes), $25; Day and Candlelight package, $45; and the Woman's Club Luncheon, $10. Theater tickets are $10 each; members may use their cards.
Tickets may be ordered by sending checks to Spring Tour of Homes, P.O. Box 661, Washington, GA 30673. Tickets will be mailed upon receipt of payment.
More information can be obtained by calling the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce at 706-678- 2013.
Holly Ridge Country Inn
Home of
Vivian and Roger Walker
Sandtown Community
The history of early Wilkes County and two of its pioneer families adds to the invisible mystique of beautiful and spacious Holly Ridge Country Inn in the Sandtown community.
The visible structure, in its picturesque rural setting, is more immediately impressive, beginning with its massive dimensions.
Holly Ridge Country Inn is the result of creatively joining together two large houses from two distinct architectural periods of the 19th Century.
One part is a Federal Plainstyle dating to the early 1800s and the other is a Victorian house from the 1860s. The combination was effected by Vivian and Roger Walker soon after they bought the 100-acre Satterfield Farm in 1982.
While researching the property, Mrs. Walker (nee Vivian Ware) learned that the property was part of an original land grant from the King of England. Previous owners included her great-grandparents (Lindseys) and her grandparents, John Ware and Lee Lindsey Ware.
Restoration began in 1985 when the Walkers moved the Federal Plainstyle house back from the road and turned it to face the lake and meadows down the ridge. In 1986, the Victorian house was moved about four miles to join the Federal Plainstyle in a choice setting beside a 150-year-old holly tree. The tree is just one-half inch smaller than the largest holly tree in Georgia. Both houses had been vacant about 16 years and were in advanced disrepair.
The setting is just across the road from the historic site of Heard's Fort, an early capital of Georgia. A state historical marked on the Danburg Road calls attention to the site of Heard's Fort and Anderson Mill, where part of the original mill wheel still stands.
The Federal Plainstyle is of "four over four" two-story design with large front and back porches. A full basement exposes hand-hewn beams and pine logs. It is believed that the original builder was Rev. John Henry Fortson who was pastor of nearby Fishing Creek Baptist Church for 43 consecutive years.
The Victorian house was most likely built by John Joe Wilkinson, whose wife was Rev. Fortson's daughter. It has four large rooms, a kitchen, and a sunporch downstairs and five spacious rooms upstairs. There are also large attic rooms, a half-basement, and a 115-foot wraparound veranda.
After about six years of continuous restoration by local craftsmen, the house was ready for occupancy in 1988. Since that time, the Walkers have continued the restoration themselves, calling in special help when needed. Kitchen cabinets are made from church pews, planed by Billy Walker of Rayle. Lonnie Fortson made the kitchen, using seats of the benches for countertops.
Most of the restoration was completed in 1996, but work continues on the original barn, a country store brought in 1986, and a log cabin moved near the lake in 1995.
The combined structure is furnished in period antiques. The spacious parlors and dining rooms lend themselves nicely to entertaining bed-and-breakfast guests, as do the many bedrooms, private baths, and comfortable verandas with swings and vintage wicker sofas and rockers.