Petersilie house 'restored, not just remodeled'

Currently under renovation, the Petersilie house is featured as a work in progress.The 2008 Washington-Wilkes Spring Tour of Homes is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5. The annual tour is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and the Woman's Club in partnership with the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce. This year's tour will feature three lofts on The Square in Downtown Washington on the Candle light Tour Friday night; and four homes on the Day Tour on Saturday. The lofts are Stephen Sanders and Linda Lurwig located over Pop-Lahr Possibilities on the corner of Spring Street; Renee Brown, over Master's Wildlife Services; and Roger and Vivian Walker next door to the Fitzpatrick Hotel. Hours for this tour are 6-9 p.m. Downtown shops on The Square will be open during regular working hours and from 6-9 p.m. Shops will be open for the Day Tour from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The Day Tour homes are Peacewood, B.J. and Bill deGolian on the Tignall Road (former Saunders home); Gail Boyd and Ted Bush, North Alexander Avenue; Pamela and Rod Eaton, 211 South Jefferson Street; Beth and Frank Petersilie, 207 Water Street (former home of Lairiee and the late Wallace Rodgers.); and the John Boyd house at Tignall. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mark and Emilie Waters will host the Dessert Soiree Friday evening at their home on East Robert Toombs Avenue. Headquarters for the Candlelight Tour is at the Chamber of Commerce officeon The Square. Headquarters for the Day Tour will be the Washington Wilkes Elementary School on East Street off East Robert Toombs Avenue. Courtesy cars will provide transportation for visitors to the various homes and other sites. Any home on the tour may be viewed individually by paying $10 at the door. Churches, museums, and historical sites will be open on Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, April 6, from 1-5 p.m. The cost for a combination Friday and Saturday tour package is $60.00 each. The cost for the Friday Candlelight Tour and Soiree is $35.00. Cost for the Day Tour on Saturday is $35.00 each. The Woman's Club luncheon on Saturday is by reservation only and is $15.00 each. Tickets will be available at tour headquarters and may be reserved in advance by mailing checks made payable to Spring Tour of Homes, P.O. Box 1293, Washington 30673; or by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 706-678-2013. For more in formation on the Tour and for a ticket order form, go to the Tour website at www.wwtourofhomes. com The News-Reporter will feature one of the homes each week. Featured this week is the home of Beth and Frank Petersilie. 210 Water Street John William Samuel Lowe, a Wilkes County landowner who owned extensive property in the City of Washington, built this house in the late 1800s. The house reflectsstyles of Greek Revival architecture with a tall columned front porch. In its original state the wide hall featured a wide central staircase with a gallery midway which divided into a double stairway to enter the upstairs hall. Sliding doors opened from the downstairs hall into the parlors and into the dining room. The back hall circled under the staircase gallery and opened onto the back porch. The eight Federal style mantels, interior woodwork and wainscoting were also original to the house. There were five bedrooms with walk-in closets and four bathrooms. The arched doorway fanlights are repeated on the second story balcony door. Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Ellington lived in the house in the 1940s and were owners of Ellington's Jewelry Store which was located in the building now occupied by The Sandwich Shop on The Square in Downtown Washington. Wallace and Lairee Myers Rodgers moved into the house as newlyweds in 1953 and later bought the house. After the death of Mr. Rodgers in 2003, Mrs. Rodgers sold the property to Frank and Beth Petersilie of St. Augustine, Fla., in 2005, and they began restoration of the stately old house. The new owners have tried to keep the house as much within in the period in which it was built as possible. Bathrooms have been upgraded, using clawfoot bathtubs and white tile to resemble fixtures that were used when indoor plumbing began to be more readily available around the late 1880s and 1890s. The only room that does take a departure is the kitchen. Modern devices are concealed as much as possible and where they were exposed an attempt was made to purchase things that looked old. Granite countertops were chosen because of Wilkes County's close proximity to the granite industry. An original kitchen cabinet was stripped. All of the wood in the house, except for insides of closets, has been stripped with careful attention to detail. Most of the paint colors have been taken from original chips of plaster that showed what was used. When unavailable, colors were chosen that were used at that time. The back porch had to be removed, so a sunroom and patio were put in its place. The master bath vanities are made of old heart pine to resemble the furniture aspect of bathroom fixtures of the time. The medallions were taken from a mold of the original medallions in another house in Washington. Overhead light fixtures have been chosen for the appearance of having been gas lighting converted to electric, as would have been the natural course of evolution for improvements. When stripping the wood, it came to light that several fireplace mantels had been sold at some point. Contractor Mike Dyches designed and built the replaced mantels to reflectwhat would have been built at the time. The fireplaces were installed as wood burning, then later converted to coal. This fact was discovered during the stabilization process and lining installation, so the decision was made to keep the wood burning design. At some point through the years, the front round wood columns on the porch had been sold and replaced with brick set in a square. Although these original columns were located, the Petersilies felt it best to just veneer the existing brick. The grounds have been landscaped in keeping with the time period. As Beth Petersilie says, "The house has been restored, not just remodeled. There is a difference and I think it will show in the final analysis."

Peacewood offers assemblage of different periods SPRING TOUR SET APRIL 4-5

"Peacewood" is one of the homes to be featured on Washington's Spring Tour of Homes for 2008.The 2008 Washington-Wilkes Spring Tour of Homes is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5. The annual tour is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and the Woman's Club in partnership with the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce.
This year's tour will feature three lofts on The Square in Downtown Washington on the Candle light Tour Friday night; and fivehomes on the Day Tour on Saturday.
The lofts are Stephen Sanders and Linda Lurwig located over Pop-Lahr Possibilities on the corner of Spring Street; Renee Brown, over Master's Wildlife Services; and Roger and Vivian Ware next door to the Fitzpatrick Hotel. Hours for this tour are 6-9 p.m.
Downtown shops on The Square will be open during regular working hours and from 6-9 p.m. Shops will be open for the Day Tour from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The Day Tour homes are Peacewood, B.J. and Bill deGolian on the Tignall Road (former Saunders home); Gail Boyd, North Alexander Avenue; Pamela and Rod Eaton, 211 South Jefferson Street; Debra and David Denard, Tignall Road; and Beth and Frank Petersilie, 207 Water Street (former home of Lairiee and the late Wallace Rodgers.) Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Mark and Emilie Waters will host the Dessert Soiree Friday evening at their home on East Robert Toombs Avenue.
Headquarters for the Candlelight Tour is at the Chamber of Commerce officeon The Square. Headquarters for the Day Tour will be the Washington Wilkes Elementary School on East Street off East Robert Toombs Avenue. Courtesy cars will provide transportation for visitors to the various homes and other sites.
Any home on the tour may be viewed individually by paying $10 at the door.
Churches, museums, and historical sites will be open on Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, April 6, from 1-5 p.m.
The cost for a combination Friday and Saturday tour package is $60.00 each. The cost for the Friday Candlelight Tour and Soiree is $35.00. Cost for the Day Tour on Saturday is $35.00 each.
The Woman's Club luncheon on Saturday is by reservation only and is $15.00 each.
Tickets will be available at tour headquarters and may be reserved in advance by mailing checks made payable to Spring Tour of Homes, P.O. Box 1293, Washington 30673; or by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 706-678-2013.
The News-Reporter will feature one of the homes each week. This week's home is "Peacewood."
Peacewood Home of BJ and Bill deGolian
Tignall Road
This beautiful old plantation home is a significantand interesting example of a house assembled from different periods and made into a columned plantation seat in the 1840s and 1850s during the period of prosperity before the Civil War.
The older portion, which dates from the 1790s, faced west and was a typical plantation plainstyle building, providing interesting examples of early craftsmanship.
In 1833, the house was enlarged and rebuilt in the Greek revival style with a columned portico. In the late 1890s, a small structure was attached to the back of the house for use as a kitchen and utility area. The house as it now stands faces south and is fronted by a Doric colonnade. In addition, most of the original outbuildings of the plantation still stand.
The land on which the house stands was originally part of the land grant of 1150 acres made in 1784 to George Walton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. George Walton sold the land to Thomas Wingfieldof Virginia in 1786. In 1825 the property was sold to Archibald S. Wingfieldand later to Jesse Callaway who sold it in 1851 to Francis G. Wingfield.
When Captain W.G. Cade bought the property in 1874, he added a new kitchen to the house but left the outbuildings standing on the grounds. Later Captain Cade's son, Dr. E. Boykin Cade, lived here and gave the home the namePeacewood.
In 1954, Peacewood was bought by Agnes and Charles L. Saunders of Virginia. It stands on spacious grounds and is approached down long tree-lined driveway that winds around in front of the house. The assemblage of house, outbuildings, grounds and farmland thus preserves a sense of the original plantation setting.
The property has been under restoration since Bill and BJ deGolian purchased it from Charles Saunders Jr. in 2000. The last major phase of renovations, restoring the original columns and rebuilding the veranda, is ongoing.
Because of size and rooflineproblems, this structure has been rebuilt on its original foundation with a small addition, to make a slightly expanded kitchen, breakfast area, and sunroom. This portion represents the only "new" construction in the current restoration.
Peacewood has all new plumbing, electrical wiring, heating and airconditioning systems. The chimneys have been rebuilt from the rooflineup, and the roof has been refurbished. The integrity of the original floor plan, particularly the upper and lower central hallways, has been prese4rved.
Bathrooms and closets have been built in between the bedrooms to minimize the impact of the renovations on the simple design of the home, i.e., two rooms on each side of a great central hallway upstairs and down.
Throughout the house, the original plaster ceilings and walls have been repaired, where still intact. All nine of the fireplaces have been cleaned and the original brick hearths restored. The original pine mantels have been stripped, repaired, and painted. The window sashes have been repaired to working order, retaining the original glass panes, where they were not broken otherwise. The ceilings and walls at what was the back entrance of the 1790 home have been stripped to their original heart pine finish.
Peacewood has several appurtenant structures dating from Colonial days, including a smokehouse and kitchen building.

Spring Tour of Homes has new schedule; events include 'Taste of Washington' Fri.

The 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.
Five of the six scheduled homes for the Day Tour have been confirmed and one is pending.
Already scheduled are the homes of 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; and Carole and Walter Currie (Sutton home) at Danburg.
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 Toiburen), is the only one already confirmed. The Zimas are newcomers to Washington-Wilkes and the house is a newcomer to the tour circuit.
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.
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

Spring Tour of Homes has new schedule; Dowling home in Danburg will be featured

The Dowling home in Danburg will be one of the homes featured on the 2007 Spring Tour of Homes sponsored by the Washington Kiwanis Club and the Washington Womans Club.The 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.
Five of the six scheduled homes for the Day Tour have been confirmed and one is still pending.
Already scheduled are the homes of 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; and Carole and Walter Currie (Sutton home) at Danburg.
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 Toiburen), is the only one already confirmed. The Zimas are newcomers to Washington-Wilkes and the house is a newcomer to the tour circuit.
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.
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.
The News-Reporter will feature one of the houses on the Tour each week until Tour Day. Featured this week is the home of Vinnie and Rod Dowling at Danburg.
THE DOWLING HOME
Danburg
The home of Vinnie and Roderick Dowling at Danburg is known locally as the Anderson House, owned for many years by the John Anderson family, prominent landowners in the area for many years.
The Greek Revival home probably incorporates an earlier structure built in the 1790s and may have been built by Dr. W.D. Quinn and remodeled before the Civil War.
There were buildings on the site of the home in the late 1790s and early 1800s. The structure underneath the right side of the house is hand-hewn, mortise and tenon, and pegged construction while the living room and bedroom on the left are made with material cut by a circular saw. This probably indicates that an early two-over-two house was added with a hall and a similar arrangement of rooms on the other side after the Civil War.
John Anderson, the owner at that time, built the house as it is now. The columns, made in Savannah, and the mirrors and cornices made in England for the house, were floated up the Savannah River from the port. The stairwell was put in and fine furniture and imported curtains were ordered from Chicago and New York.
From early photographs furnished by members of the Anderson family, it can be determined that the house was once painted gray and that all outside windows and doors under cover were stippled to look like fine woods. The back and front doors were painted to look like burl walnut.
The 24-35 foot banquet dining room of brick with slate roof, and the old stone kitchen were destroyed many years ago. They were separate buildings across the open breezeway from the back hall.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Simms, who owned the house in the late 1970s and 1980s, built a welcoming porch and entry of lattice-work in keeping with the early Victorian aspects of the house.
An upstairs balustraded gallery which once ran across the back of the house is missing and a bathroom is approached by the double back doors.
There are four upstairs bedrooms. The third floor has one finished room at the top of the stairs. The roof supports are skinned trees laid on pegged hand-hewn supports and covered with shakes. A tin roof was also added.
The somewhat narrow front porch was squeezed in between the house and the very fine old holly trees. Fountains and concrete posts were added to the property in the early 1920 when the house had one of he first rural electric systems in Wilkes County. The lawns boasted a greenhouse, formal gardens, brick walkways, and a gazebo.
The addition of brackets and lattice work to the entablature of the house portico is evidence of the increasing influence of the Victorian on the Greek Revival just after the Civil War.

Visitors down for Spring Tour; but more staying for Masters

By KIP BURKE news editor

(Above) Skeet Willingham greets visitors at the door as wife Ginny King prepares to show their home. (Right) Vivian Walker points out details of her home to Tour of Homes visitors.Organizers say that although weather was perfect and the homes lovely, attendance was down significantly for Saturday's Spring Tour of Homes. (Apr 2007)
"Everybody I talked to said they had a wonderful time," co-chairman Vivian Walker said, "and they loved the selection of different homes, but I think the numbers were down some. We had 335 visitors at Holly Ridge, and some of the Candlelight tour homes had 65 to 75. And the weather was perfect, and everybody said they enjoyed the homes and the lunch at the Woman's Club."
Tour co-chairman Bill Steed said that the final count was not complete, but he estimated that some 350 visitors came for the tour, down from more than 700 last year.
Walker said that she was thankful for the homeowners who volunteered to prepare and open their homes for the tour. "It's a lot of work they have to do to be ready, and it's getting harder and harder to locate homes that haven't been on the Tour in three years, and who are willing to be on again."
She said that the Tour was shortened this year because she couldn't get enough homeowners to host the dessert soiree on Friday night, and few wanted to open their homes on Sunday. "It's always a struggle, but we still had a good group of homes."
The change in schedule caused some problems, since advertisements for the Tour had been placed months in advance, and they all said that the Tour was set for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as it had been for years.
Merchants said that more than a few visitors arrived Friday looking for the Tour. "I had to apologize to a lot of folks," one said.
Although Tour numbers were down, this week tourism in Washington is making a quick rebound. Tourism Director Ashley Barnett says that visitors to The Masters are now filling hotel rooms and restaurants in Washington.
"There may be one or two rooms available in a bed and breakfast inn or a hotel here, but not many," she said. "The visitor's center has been jammed Monday and Tuesday. People say they found Washington on the internet, and wanted to be in a quaint Southern town away from the crowds in Augusta."
Restaurants have seen the impact, too. "The Washington Jockey Club's been packed, and the Fitzpatrick's restaurant is open every night this week. Everybody says there are lots more people from the Masters in town this year."
Steed said that it would help the Tour to advertise it to the golf fans who come to Augusta the week after the Tour. "It's a perfect match - start your week at the Masters here at the Tour of Homes. We need to see how we can connect the two."
"Folks who go to the Masters are really starting to discover Washington now that we've been advertising more," Barnett said. "They're finding us from our ads in Southern Living, and our TV ads in Atlanta, and from the internet. And it's just starting. Wait til next year."

Annual Spring Tour of Homes to be held this Saturday

The annual Washington-Wilkes Tour of Homes 2007 gets underway Saturday morning, March 31, when tour headquarters at the Washington Wilkes Elementary School on East Street (off East Robert Toombs Avenue) opens at 9 a.m. for registration and directions. Both the Day Tour and the Candlelight Tour will be held on this same day with the Day Tour hours being 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and the Candlelight Tour, 6-9 p.m. The tour is sponsored by the Washington Kiwanis Club and the Washington Woman's Club in partnership with the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Kiwanis Club will be co-ordinating the operation TheNews- of courtesy cars to provide transpor- tation for visitors during the Day Tour. Rest room facilities are available at tour headquarters. Any tour home may be visited individually by paying $5.00 at the door. Other tour packages will be available at the Chamber of Commerce located on The Square from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31. Tickets will be available at tour headquarters on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Cost of tickets is $25 for the six homes on the Day Tour; $25 for the four homes on the Candlelight Tour; and $45 for both the Day and Candlelight tours. The Washington Woman's Club will be having a seated luncheon at the clubhouse at the corner of North Alexander Avenue and Court Street at a cost of $10 each. Reservations are required. The First United Methodist Church will provide a buffet luncheon in the fellowship hall of the church. No reservations are required. The six houses on the Day Tour are the home of Dawn and Sam Moore on the Tignall Road; Magnolia Cottage, home of Virginia Lee King and Skeet Willingham, 212 West Robert Toombs Avenue; the Anderson-Dowling Home at Danburg; Holly Ridge, home of Vivian and Roger Walker at Sandtown; the home of Chrean and Archie Brown, 211 Court Street; and the Dr. Linus M. Ellis House owned by Nellie McGee, 403 East Robert Toombs Avenue. The four houses on the Candlelight Tour are the home of Sharlene and Allan Zima, 206 South Alexander Avenue; the home of Amy and Shane Moore, 1277 Tignall Road; home of Rosemary and Billy Caddell, 120 Tignall Road; and the Wills-Nash House owned by Vivian and Roger Walker, 223 East Robert Toombs Avenue. The Mary Willis Library, the Washington Historical Museum, the Robert Toombs House Historic Site, and Callaway Plantation will also be open, as will in-town churches, including the First United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, Washington Presbyterian Church, and the Episcopal Church of the Mediator.

Final slate of homes still uncertain; Moore, Zima homes will be on tour

The Armstrong-Saggus-Moore home - Tignall RoadThough the final list of home to be officially featured this year is still not certain, it is known that the 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 include those of Dawn and Sam Moore on the Tignall Road; 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. Included are the home of Allan and Sharlene Zima at 206 South Alexander Avenue; the home of Shane and Amy W. Moore on the Tignall Road; the Nash-Wills House on East Robert Toombs Avenue; and the home of Billy and Rosemary Caddell on the Tignall Road. Headquarters for the tour will be at the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School on East Street. The Zima home - 206 South Alexander AvenueThe 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. Home of Allan & Sharlene Zima 206 South Alexander Avenue This cottage on South Alexander Avenue began as a replica of the house that stands on the corner of South Alexander Avenue and Liberty Street, now the home of Liz Reynolds. In 1889, work began on this corner for a parsonage for the Little River Methodist Circuit. It was completed in February 1890 and for some reason was sold to John T. Wootten. The Circuit then took the $1,500 received from the sale to Wootten and erected another parsonage of the same design on the adjoining lot just south of the corner. The original structure included a front porch, four rooms off a main hallway, a kitchen, and a back room, later remodeled to a master bath and dressing room. The kitchen was remodeled in 1973 and a den added. Allan and Sharlene Zima purchased the house from Laura and David Toburen in 2005. Home of Dawn and Sam Moore Tignall Road The home of Dawn and Sam Moore on the Tignall Road has been known for many years as "The Armstrong House" because the Armstrong family who came to Wilkes County in the early 1800s built it and Armstrong descendants have lived in the house since that time. Mrs. Moore, nee Dawn McAvoy Saggus, was the widow of a sixth generation Armstrong, Donald Richard Saggus Jr., who died suddenly in 1997 at the age of 37. Mrs. Moore is married to Sam Moore and they make their home in the house with her sons, Joshua and Caleb Saggus who are seventh generation Armstrong descendants. According to family history, James Armstrong II of Savannah moved his wife, Elizabeth Giles Butler Armstrong, and their children to Wilkes County and began to acquire property, some of which is still owned by is descendants today. This was in 1812 at the time of the British occupation of Savannah. James Armstrong II was a planter and later a Baptist minister. He built the first Armstrong house, perhaps around 1815, and it was located about 300 yards south of the present Armstrong house, closer to the family cemetery. The house burned several years after the death of James Armstrong II in 1835, leaving no trace of its existence. James and Elizabeth Armstrong's eldest son, John Francis William Cavoisier Armstrong, built the house that stands today around 1849. The house consisted of six rooms, four on the first level with the back two being "shed" rooms used as bedrooms, and two on the second level. A large columned twostory front porch gave the house the Greek revival style it retains today. The house underwent its first major renovations and improvements in the early 1900s when James Wingfield Armstrong and his wife Carolyn Ayer Armstrong (nicknamed Lula) occupied the home. Details are sketchy on the changes made in the house. George Terry Armstrong and his wife, Mary Willis Bounds Armstrong, gave the home to their only child, Emelyn Bounds Armstrong, who had married Joseph W. Bennett. They moved into the house in the early 1940s with their daughter, Terry Armstrong Bennett, and son, Joseph W. Bennett Jr. At the death of Emelyn Bennett in 1976, the property was bequeathed to her oldest grandchild, Donald Richard Saggus Jr., son of Emelyn's only daughter, the late Terry Armstrong Bennett Saggus. Donald Richard Saggus Jr. was the sixth generation of descendants to live in the Armstrong House. In 1984 he married Melanie Dawn McAvoy of Wilkes County and they assumed possession of the house in 1988. Together they began the most ambitious of renovations since its original construction. With a clear understanding of his grandmother's wishes for historical preservation of the exterior and as much of the interior as possible, Don Saggus and his wife began painstakingly dismantling the interior, saving all of the old woodwork, mantles, floors, doors, and anything else salvageable. Included in this renovation were the enclosure of the back porch, replacement of the "beyond repair plaster walls," rewiring, new plumbing, and modernization of the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry. The removal of the old plaster walls revealed that small pine trees with the bark still intact had been used as braces and studs in certain places for the interior walls. They made the decision to leave them. The corner cabinets in the dining room were left but much needed closet space required redesign and change upstairs. The Sagguses also added a deck and patio preserving and incorporating the old well house shed as part of the patio. In June 1989, Don and Dawn Saggus with Joshua, their first son who was born in 1987, moved into the house before the arrival of their second son, Caleb, in September. Joshua and Caleb represented the seventh Armstrong generation to live in the house and on the property. Caleb, like his great-great-great-grandfather, James Wingfield Armstrong, was born in the house and has never lived anywhere else. Following the death of Don Saggus in 1997, Dawn, Joshua and Caleb supervised the completion of the planned additions making this old historic house a modern and convenient home while maintaining its 1800s charm and architecture. Mr. and Mrs. Moore, and Joshua and Caleb Saggus live in, maintain, and continue to improve the second 1849 Armstrong house and the property remains one of the most picturesque sites in Wilkes County.