Spring Tour of Homes has new schedule; Magnolia Cottage is a featured attraction

Magnolia Cottage - 212 West Robert Toombs AvenueThe 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. MAGNOLIA COTTAGE Home of Virginia Lee King and Robert M. Willingham When Virginia Lee King and Robert Willingham (better known in Washington-Wilkes as Ginny and Skeet) were planning their marriage last year, they began looking for an historic house that would be a welcoming home to them and their collections of antiques and Americana. This plain style Victorian house at 212 West Robert Toombs Avenue perfectly met their requirements. With its entranceway framed by two majestic magnolias and its yard boasting camellias, dogwoods, crape myrtles, pomegranates, and even a towering eucalyptus, it would be an ideal fit for Ginny's interest in gardening and native plants. Although the exterior of the house is relatively unadorned, once inside the massive front door the cottage's woodwork surprises and delights. Milled from Wilkes County heart pine, the wainscoting and diamond-patterned 14-foot ceilings have never been painted and retain their more than a century old mellow patina. Magnolia Cottage is a house filled with warmth and history. It is only appropriate that this would become home to Ginny and Skeet who were married in June 2006, for it was built in 1873 as a wedding present for Nannie Stuart Wylie (1853-1918) and Wylie Duncan DuBose (1850-1909) from her father, Henry N. Wylie. Her grandfather, Nicholas Wylie, had been one of Washington's wealthiest and most philanthropic citizens. Their house was a modest cottage most likely of five rooms and a detached kitchen. Nannie and Wylie DuBose would become parents of ten children. In about 1892, they sold this house and moved into the DuBose home on Spring Street which would later become the Washington General Hospital. Purchaser of this cottage was Anson L. King (1867-1910). The son of North Carolina native Dr. Richard Griswald King and Miriam Lewis Brown of Georgia, Anson King was born in Mississippi but spent much of his youth in Thomasville, Georgia. When his uncle, Marcus Brown of Circleville, Ohio, died in the 1880s, young Anson was left with a sizable inheritance. He settled in Washington, established a mercantile business, and became actively involved with the local semi-pro baseball team, which eventually was named the Washington Kings in his honor. He erected a store building on the south side of The Square, and fell in love with a young Washington lady named Belle Hill. She was the daughter of William Wylie Hill and his wife, Emma Eugenia Anthony. Of their seven children, Belle (1868-1937) was the youngest. She was a talented musician, having studied at Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens, in New York, and at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Belle Hill and Anson King were married on December 14, 1892, and moved into this house which Anson had fashionably remodeled for his bride. He contracted with Atlanta architect Edmund G. Lind for the renovations which included pocket doors, five mantels all with different woods and designs, and magnificent paneling. Lind had also been Anson King's architect for his store Downtown as well as the Mary Willis Library and several other Washington homes. When a chimney was being repaired last year (2006) during renovations, reminders of the Kings' occupancy were discovered behind the mantel including old photographs and letters. For much of the twentieth century, the house was owned by the Oslin family, beginning with Captain Robert A. Oslin (1856-1925) of the Georgia Railroad and his wife Duella (1862-1944). Two further generations of this family would make this structure their home as well. Magnolia Cottage has now been lovingly and carefully restored through the efforts of Mike Dyches and his capable assistants. A new master bath and dressing area features antique Southern pine furniture and matching hand-blown glass vessel sinks by Robert Jones of Seattle, a former associate in the Dale Chihuly Studio. The kitchen has also been totally renovated with stainless steel appliances, Tuscan slate floor, English botanical accent tiles dating from 1870, and a memorable wroughtiron and brass chandelier. Bookshelves, designed and created by Mike Dyches, now define the library and are filled with volumes on local history along with prime examples from Ginny and Skeet's outstanding collection of Southern pottery. In addition to showcasing some spectacular works of the potter's art throughout the house, there are fine pieces of Southern furniture including a circa 1820 Carolina tiger maple huntboard, a massive Baltimore Empire sideboard, Wilkes County corner cupboard, and an eighteenth-century locally made pine side table. The elegant formal dining room not only features the most ornate woodwork in the house but also provides an excellent venue for displaying the couple's collection of Georgia-made antebellum coin silver. Artwork also fills the home from original Audubon and Catesby natural history prints to paintings by Skeet's mother, noted Southern artist Helen A. Willingham. All window treatments have been designed and installed by Washington's own Joe Barnett. Magnolia Cottage will open its doors with true Southern hospitality to visitors and friends, giving a glimpse of elegance, comfort, and whimsy. Don't miss the breakfast porch with its Leonard Jones folk art and even an antique checkerboard.

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.

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

Home of Carole and Walter Currie - DanburgThe 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; 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.
Home of
Carole and Walter Currie
The home of Carole and Walter Currie in Danburg was built in the late 1800s by Walter Lee Sutton, the grandfather of the current owner, Walter Currie, and has been in the family since that time. At one time the house was part of a much larger Danburg community where there were stores, a cotton gin, a post office, and several churches.
The Victorian farmhouse was originally surrounded by a group of outbuildings including a smokehouse, a separate kitchen house, two houses for domestic employees, a barn, and an outhouse.
A pecan grove, fruit trees and muscadine grape vines and a large garden helped to feed the large Sutton family and provided produce to be canned and preserved for winter on the big wood stove in the kitchen. The flue and chimney for the wood stove are still visible.
The dining room and back porch were added to connect the kitchen to the major portion of the house and a long and wide screened porch across the side of the house in the back provides a summer living room where for decades meals have been served and visitors entertained.
The front porch faces west, overlooking a bucolic pasture, and provides spectacular evening sunsets. The right side of the porch was screened for many years to allow use in the summer months.
In the main section of the house, two rooms on each side open onto a wide center hallway which provides a breezeway to cool the house in summer.
In the mid-1990s, the house was renovated with an eye to providing comfort and conveniences but with respect for the historical era of the house and for the people who lived in it. The major changes came in the kitchen with cabinets and flooring done of antique heart pine from a lumber company in Milledgeville. A bath was added and wall colors were changed but they were done in keeping with the Victorian era of the house.
Most of the Victorian era furnishings are original to the house and there are several original oil paintings by family members, the late Mary Sutton Saggus and her son, the late Charles Saggus.
The rose-hued dining room, centered with an oak table that easily seats 12, is hung with a variety of prints and paintings of camellias that once hung in homes of a number of family members, now deceased.
In past days, the dining room was filled every Sunday noon with family members and perhaps the Baptist preacher from Danburg Baptist Church and his family there for the mid-day meal. The original owner and his wife were the first to be married in the Danburg Baptist Church, in 1886.
Many of the dishes, pieces of handpainted china and decorative items in the house were wedding gifts to Mr. Sutton and his bride, Hattie Lou Wynn.
For years, the house was the home of Miss Nell Sutton, a beloved Wilkes County school teacher whose raincoat, umbrella and gardening hat still hang in the center hallway as a constant reminder of those who have gone before.
The rock wall beside the driveway was built from stones intended for a Danburg bank, which was never built. The dug well in the north yard had a reputation of yielding good water and never going dry. In years past, neighbors would "borrow" water in season when their own wells were dry.
The wisteria vine in the north yard and the pecan trees in the pasture were planted by Mr. Sutton. The adjacent Walton house began its existence unfinished for many years because a promised marriage never occurred.
The brick steps to Mr. Sutton's final store can be seen on the "new store lot" which lies across Floral Hill Road from the Walton house.
Danburg was once an incorporated town and the road now called Euel Saggus Road was named Greene Street. Two stores and the houses that fronted on Greene Street are now gone.
The town of Danburg was named for the Danforth family whose members had come from England to Massachusetts, to Virginia, and then to Georgia. Hattie Lou Wynn was a descendant of the Danforths.
The area was once the western edge of a very old settlement known as Old Petersburg, on the Savannah and Broad Rivers. Old Petersburg was the point of navigation to Augusta and Savannah for the thriving farming and commercial settlement.

Perfect weather, good advertising bring good 2006 Tour Turnout

By KIP BURKE news editor

Although the numbers are still being crunched, all indications are that the 2006 Spring Tour of Homes was a success in bringing visitors to Washington-Wilkes for the perfect spring weekend.

Tour organizer Mark Waters said that judging from cash receipts, the turnout was "significantly higher" than in previous years.

The attendance numbers at Washington museums reflected a high number of history-minded visitors. "We had 462 at the Robert Toombs House - that's the highest ever - and 380 at the Washington Historical Museum," Robert Toombs curator Marcia Campbell.

Tour committee volunteers and Chamber of Commerce volunteers staffing the visitors center on The Square talked to hundreds of people throughout the weekend.

"I would say hundreds and hundreds of people have come through the welcome center," said Donna Hardy, Chamber executive director, as she greeted visitors downtown. "There was a writer from Southern Living in town, and I talked to a group of 8 or 10 tour guides who were checking out Washington to bring tour groups here. We never know who's here scoping out Washington."

The good weather - warm and sunny for a week prior - was one factor that everyone agreed helped bring out more visitors.

"The weather was perfect," said Waters, a retired Navy meteorologist who jokingly took credit for the rain early Saturday morning "to wash the pollen out of the air."

Another major factor in the good turnout, Waters and Hardy agreed, was the WWTourofHomes.com website that thousands of visitors saw. More than half the advance ticket sales came from website designed by Sparky Newsome and linked from, among other places, The News-Reporter's web site. Rev. Gail Seibert surveyed visitors as they bought their Tour tickets and after their Tour to see how visitors are finding out the Tour, and what they enjoyed. The data will be used to fine-tune Tour publicity and advertising efforts in the future.

One very popular aspect of the weekend among Tour visitors was the whole idea of being chauffeured around. The Washington Tour of Homes is one of the few tours in which community volunteers use their own cars to drive visitors from Tour headquarters to Tour sites, other attractions, and shopping on The Square.

"Other tours should do it this way," said Naomi Carter of Savannah. "We got a ride with a nice fella in a red Mini convertible, and he was a hoot! He was the perfect host and added so much to the afternoon."

Hotels and bed & breakfast inns were busy through the weekend, as were stores around The Square. The annual luncheon at The Woman's Club was a sell-out, and the Tour Buffet Luncheon at the First United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Tea Room were busy, too, as were the restaurants around town.

Visitors also found four performances of the Washington Little Theater Co.'s musical The 1940s Radio Hour at The Playhouse on North Alexander Street, and enjoyed the Spring Artist's Market at Court Street Livery Gallery, just off The Square on West Court Street.
Reader Comments

Volunteers make the 2006 Tour go 'round

Getting ready for this weekend's 2006 Spring Tour of Homes are three of some 300 local volunteers who help make the annual Tour a springtime destination for visitors from all over. Atop a ladder on The Square, Bob Simmons tightens up the Welcome banner as Bill Steed holds the ladder safely in position and Mark Waters keeps an eye peeled for lightning. The weather this weekend will be perfect, the retired meteorologist promises.

2006 Tour of Homes will feature 10 homes;

2006 Tour of Homes will feature 10 homes; visit 'wwtourofhomes.com' for overview


Lafayette Manor Inn - 219 East Robert Toombs Avenue
The 2006 Spring Tour of Homes of Washington-Wilkes will be held on March 31, and April 1 and 2. The Candlelight Tour will get underway on Friday, March 31, at 6 p.m., and continue until 9 p.m. The Candlelight Tour will also be held on Saturday evening, April 1, during the same hours.

A Dessert Soiree will be available to those on the tour and others at Holly Court Inn, home of Phillip and Margaret Rothman, 301 South Alexander Avenue, on Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Day Tour will begin Saturday, April 1, at 10 a.m. and will conclude at 5 p.m. The day tour will also be available on Sunday, April 2, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Tour headquarters will be at the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School on East Street, just off East Robert Toombs Avenue.

DAY TOUR

There will be six homes on the Day Tour. These six homes are:

The home of Jerry and Kay Robinson, 104 Pembroke Drive;

Southern Elegance, Jean Davis Blair, 115 West Robert Toombs Avenue.

Lafayette Manor Inn, (former Maynard's Manor), East Robert Toombs Avenue, home of Guillaume and Sokun Slama.

Deborah Rainey's Downtown Loft; and

Wisteria Hall, home of Jim and Jane Bundy, 225 East Robert Toombs Avenue.

Washington Plantation, Tom and Barbara Chase, Lexington Avenue;

CANDLELIGHT TOUR

The Candlelight Tour will feature three homes and Holly Court Inn where the Dessert Soiree will be held. These are:

The home of John and Kathleen Overstreet, 401 East Robert Toombs Avenue;

The Rider House, Jane and Smythe Newsome, 109 Court Street;

Holly Court Inn, Dessert Soiree, South Alexander Avenue; and

The Home of Ricky and Kathy Lindsey, South Alexander Avenue.

OTHER

ATTRACTIONS

The Washington Little Theater Co.'s presentation will be "1940s Radio Hour," and will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Cost is $10.

The Washington Woman's Club Luncheon is sold out.

The First United Methodist Church will also provide lunch for $10.

Admission to the Robert Toombs House, Washington Historical Museum and Callaway Plantation will be free with the purchase of any ticket package. Cost to non-ticket holders is the regular price at the door.

Other attractions on the tour which are free include the Episcopal Church of the Mediator, Washington Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, the Mary Willis Library, and an Arts and Crafts Show at the Livery Stable coordinated by Debbie Wells.

Organ music will be presented at the Washington Presbyterian Church from 6 to 8 p.m. during the candlelight tours Friday and Saturday nights. Visitors are encouraged to sit and listen for as long or as short a time as they would like.Tourists and local people are invited to visit the many shops and attractions in Downtown Washington.

COSTS

Ticket prices are $25.00 for the day or candlelight tour; $45.00 for both Day and Candlelight tours; $5.00 at the door of any single home; and $10.00 for the Dessert Soiree.

TICKETS

Ticket and reservation information are available by calling 706678-2013.

HOMES FEATURED

Each week until the tour days, The News-Reporter will feature one of the homes on the tour. For more information and an overview of all the tour homes, visit www.ww tourofhomes.com.

LaFayette Manor Inn

219 E. Robert Toombs Avenue

LaFayette Manor Inn was built in the mid-1820s for Elizabeth Tarver, widow of John Tarver. It was a single story, approximately 20'x24'. The land on which the house stands had been owned in 1783 by George Walton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It later became part of the Gilbert estate.

Other owners have included David P. Hillhouse, Guy Harris Sandifer, Oliver L. Battle, Frank Colley, Sarah Cooper Sanders, and C.L. Wickersham.

Ross and Louise Maynard purchased the property on May 30, 1997, and began renovation and restoration immediately. Before the Maynards bought the property it was for many years the home of Katie and Charles Wickersham, both native Wilkes Countians. Following their deaths, the house was vacant for five years or more. The new owner had begun an extensive renovation project and had removed all of the plaster walls and ceilings, along with all of the fireplace mantels, plumbing, electric wiring, doors, door frames, woodwork, stairs and light fixtures.

The house had been extended 18 feet to the rear and this addition was two stories high. The rear wall was never finished and at this point the venture was abandoned and the house stood vacant and gutted for several years.

The house now has six bedrooms and six bathrooms on the upstairs level; two kitchens, a master bedroom with bath, a den, four formal rooms, and a half bath on the main level. Every door in the house is original. The Maynards salvaged and replaced every piece of original trim and baseboard that was found in, around, and under the house. They began occoupancy of the house on August 28, 1998.

In January 2006, the property was sold to Guillaume Slama and Sokunvathany Nuon-Slama, and they chose LaFayette Manor Inn as the name for their bed and breakfast facility. Both are from France and have been living in Atlanta for about eight years. Sokunvathany is originally from Cambodia but moved with her family to France when she was six years old. She is a trained chef and they will be serving a combination of French and Cambodian cuisine to their guests at lunch and dinner.

They have recently been licensed to serve meals to the general public by reservation.

The new owners have installed a large commercial kitchen and Washington-Wilkes decorator Joe Barnett has installed the drapes downstairs. A combination of oriental and French dcor has been used throughout the house. Other decorating is still in progress.
Reader Comments

2006 Tour of Homes will feature 10 homes;

2006 Tour of Homes will feature 10 homes; visit 'wwtourofhomes.com' for overview

Lindsey home - 419 S. Alexander Avenue
The 2006 Spring Tour of Homes of Washington-Wilkes will be held on March 31, and April 1 and 2. The Candlelight Tour will get underway on Friday, March 31, at 6 p.m., and continue until 9 p.m. The Candlelight Tour will also be held on Saturday evening, April 1, during the same hours.

A Dessert Soiree will be available to those on the tour and others at Holly Court Inn, home of Phillip and Margaret Rothman, 301 South Alexander Avenue, on Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Day Tour will begin Saturday, April 1, at 10 a.m. and will conclude at 5 p.m. The day tour will also be available on Sunday, April 2, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Tour headquarters will be at the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School on East Street, just off East Robert Toombs Avenue.

DAY TOUR

There will be six homes on the Day Tour. These five homes are:

The home of Jerry and Kay Robinson, 104 Pembroke Drive;

Southern Elegance, Jean Davis Blair, 115 West Robert Toombs Avenue.

Washington Plantation, Tom and Barbara Chase, Lexington Avenue;

Lafayette Manor Inn, (former Maynard's Manor), East Robert Toombs Avenue, home of Guillaume Slama and Sokunvathany Nuon-Slama.

Deborah Rainey's Downtown Loft; and

Wisteria Hall, home of Jim and Jane Bundy, 225 East Robert Toombs Avenue.

CANDLELIGHT TOUR

The Candlelight Tour will feature four homes and Holly Court Inn where the Dessert Soiree will be held. These are:

The home of John and Kathleen Overstreet, 401 East Robert Toombs Avenue;

The Rider House, Smythe and Jane Newsome, 109 Court Street;

Holly Court Inn, Dessert Soiree, South Alexander Avenue; and

The Home of Ricky and Kathy Lindsey, South Alexander Avenue.

OTHER

ATTRACTIONS

The Washington Little Theater Co.'s presentation will be "1940s Radio Hour," and will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Cost is $10.

The Washington Woman's Club Luncheon will be available by reservation only at noon on Saturday, at a cost of $10 each. This is a seated luncheon with a home-cooked meal served in the exquisitely decorated historic Woman's Club.

The First United Methodist Church will also provide lunch for $10.

Admission to the Robert Toombs House, Washington Historical Museum and Callaway Plantation will be free with the purchase of any ticket package. Cost to non-ticket holders is the regular price at the door.

Other attractions on the tour which are free include the Episcopal Church of the Mediator, Washington Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, the Mary Willis Library, and an Arts and Crafts Show at the Livery Stable coordinated by Debbie Wells.

Tourists and local people are invited to visit the many shops and attractions in Downtown Washington.

COSTS

Ticket prices are $25.00 for the day or candlelight tour; $45.00 for both Day and Candlelight tours; $5.00 at the door of any single home; and $10.00 for the Dessert Soiree.

TICKETS

Ticket and reservation information are available by calling 706678-2013. More information and a form to order tickets are available at www.wwtourofhomes.com.

HOMES FEATURED

Each week until the tour days, The News-Reporter will feature one of the homes on the tour.

Home of

Ricky and Kathy Lindsey

410 S. Alexander Avenue

This bungalow-style home was built in 1913 by W.T. Johnson for his daughter, Louise Johnson Norman, and her husband, attorney Robert Claude Norman.

Ricky and Kathy Lindsey purchased the house in 1977 from the children of the original owners. According to Robert C. Norman Jr., the only structural changes his family made to the house were the removal of two butler pantries making the kitchen into one large room, and the removal of a wall and sliding doors, opening the parlor to the front entrance.

Before the Lindseys purchased the house it had been sub-divided into apartments. The Lindseys restored the upstairs, removing the kitchen. They also removed the linoleum in the downstairs kitchen, exposing the original pine flooring.

The French doors throughout the house are typical of the bungalow style. Another interesting feature is the bell press in the floor of the dining room. This was used in the early days of the house's existence to summon the servants.

Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey have furnished their home with an extensive collection of country antiques. They are particularly proud of their basket and quilt collections.
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