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Preparations for two of Montgomery’s most time-honored traditions are
now taking place as city residents get ready for the annual Christmas
celebration.
The 38th Christmas Home Tour and 24th Cookie Walk are among the
activities taking place Dec. 12 during the town’s annual Christmas in
Montgomery celebration.
Other events happening that day include Breakfast with Santa from 8 to
10 a.m. at Living Savior Lutheran Church, a Christmas parade at 11 a.m.,
entertainment in the historic district and shopping at the Old Community
Center on FM 149.
But to many, Christmas time wouldn’t be the same without the traditions
of the Cookie Walk and Home Tour.
“The Cookie Walk and Home Tour are very unique to this county and other
counties around us,” said Bea Rouse, member of the Montgomery Historical
Society. “I don’t know of another evening home tour in this area where
the buildings are close enough that you can walk from one to the other.
And it doesn’t cost much to see them.”
The Cookie Walk is set for 2 to 4 p.m. at the Old Community Center
Building on FM 149 in the Historic District.
Rouse said the idea for the Cookie Walk came from Montgomery Historical
Society member Reba Laughter who passed away in May 2014. She and her
husband, Col. Ramon M. Laughter, have been major supporters of
Montgomery history throughout the years.
Montgomery Christmas Home Tour Map 2015
Now people line up an hour ahead of time before the Cookie Walk opens to
pick out their favorite candies and cookies by the pound. Mothers and
daughters of the National Charity League assist historical society
members to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Rouse said both the Cookie Walk and Home Tour are fundraisers for the
Montgomery Historical Society and help with funds to maintain the seven
historic properties owned by the society.
When night falls on the evening of Christmas in Montgomery, then the
homes on the Christmas Home Tour come alive with activity and are
decorated to the hilt for the holidays.
“The homes are all so beautifully decorated,” Rouse said. “The people
really spend a lot of time decorating them.”
Candelarias make lighted paths to the historic properties.
These historic homes and properties on this year’s tour
include:
The Nathaniel Hart Davis Cottage and Museum
- 14264 Liberty This was the first home of the Davis family. It was
built in 1851 of logs cut in 1831 and obtained as legal fees to Davis
who was a lawyer and later the first mayor of Montgomery.
Nathaniel Hart Davis Law Office - 14264
Liberty - The law office was built in 1845 and used as Davis’ law office
and living quarters until his cottage was built.
Courtesy Photo
The Old Baptist Church at
301 Pond Steet is one of two churches on the annual Christmas Home Tour
in Montgomery.
Old Baptist Church - 301 Pond Street - The
Baptist Church of Montgomery was organized in 1850. The building was
completed in March 1902 and for the next 77 years served as a place of
worship.
McCall Law Office - 14264 Liberty - The
small cabin was built in the 1880s in Willis. The office was used by
Screven A. McCall a lawyer and elected official in Montgomery County.
The office was donated by the McCall heirs.
The Methodist Church (Living Savior Lutheran
Church)
309 Pond - The church was organized in December 1838. The present
building was completed in 1908.
Courier file art
The historic home Social Circle
at 602 Caroline will be on the Christmas Home Tour again this year. The
home is owned by Lonnie and Sonya Clover and features many antiques and
interesting architectural elements
Social Circle - 602 Caroline - Built in
1908 by W. C. Whitehead, who came to the Montgomery area to develop a
town nearby called Social Circle. According to current owners Lonnie and
Sonya Clover, the home was at one time a parsonage for the Baptist
Church across the street.
For Sonya Clover, the home tour marks a special time for families during
the holidays.
“Christmas is such a family time,” said Sonya Clover. “It’s an
opportunity for families to go around, see some homes that are different
perhaps than what they live in and how people of today make it their
home.”
She noted that people are always pleasantly amazed that they live in the
house and it functions in today’s world.
The home features a Victorian-style, wrap-around porch with a rounded
cupola, several stained glass windows, a relic room with recently
refurbished floors and many antiques.
“The kids really enjoy the tour,” she said. “We have a lot of things
that people used a long time ago that they’ve never seen.”
Staff photo by Ana Ramirez
The Old
Methodist Parsonage at 705 College Street in Montgomery decorated
for a previous Christmas Home Tour in Montgomery. The historic home will
be a part of this year’ 38th Christmas Home Tour.
Old Methodist Parsonage - 705 College -
Built in the 1860s. The first Protestant parsonage in Texas (1842) was
destroyed and in 1886, the church bought is home to use as its second
parsonage. The west wing, a pre-Civil War house was moved from Willis
and added in 1977.
Chilton Home - 709 College - Home to the
first full-time paster of Montgomery Baptist Church, Rev. Thomas
Chilton, until his death in 1854. The picket fence was built in the
1890s by David Dean, from heart pine cut at his mill.
Photo courtesy of Susan Hartle
The Magnolia home at 801 College Street is
once again on the Christmas Home Tour. It was built in 1854 for Peter J.
Willis and is currently owned by Nicholas and Susan Hartle.
Magnolia - 801 College Street - Built for
the Peter J. Willis family in 1854. Then occupied by heirs of the Davis
family for more than 100 years. Anna Davis Weisinger was born in and
died in the home. The home was purchased in 2013 by Nicholas and Susan
Hartle.
Photo by Mary Eckhart
The inside of Mary Eckhart’s historic
Shelton-Smith Home at 811 Caroline in Montgomery decorated for
the holidays. She said the home will be on the annual Christmas Home
Tour for the 13th year in 2015.
Shelton-Smith Home - 811 Caroline - The site was purchased by
John E. Shelton in 1855. Shelton was the builder of many of the older
homes in Montgomery. He built the main portion of the house in 1858 for
Capt. Thomas W. Smith, whose family owned it until 1924.
Current owner, Mary Eckhart, has the distinction of being only the
fourth owner of the home, following the Thomas A. Gay family and the
Whisenant family.
She and her late husband, Richard, purchased the property in October
2000 and have restored the structures on the home, including a slave
quarters on the property.
At the time, Eckhart, an interior designer, found the property to be a
wonderful project.
“It had a lot of history and gave me a lot to work on,” she said.
There are three structures on the property, the main house, a former
slave quarters and a large greenhouse. All were in need of repairs when
the Eckharts purchased the property.
Mary Eckhart repaired the main house, turned the slave quarters into a
honeymoon suite and made a lodge-style guest house out of the former
greenhouse.
In 2006, she opened the Caroline House Bed and Breakfast which was in
operation through 2013.
Eckhart said this is the 13th year for the property to be on the
Montgomery Christmas Home Tour.
She said to expect lots of bows in the holiday decorations, a Nativity
scene in each house and a Christmas tree in each house.
The main house’s tree is much more formal with ornaments she has
collected over the last 40 years, there’s a Norfolk Pine tree in the
cottage and the tree in the guesthouse has a country style.
“Being that there’s only been four owners, it’s really easy to go back
and see what each family did to make it their own,” she said.
Bell’s Grove - 708 Caroline - The home was
built by John E. Shelton and sold to Judge Henry R. Bell in 1855. The
name Bell’s Grove came from the once wooded adjoining area; the scene of
political rallies and conventions.
Melrose (Hodge Podge Lodge) - 300 Prairie -
Built in 1854 for Richard S. Willis, it was named for his home back
East. It now serves as the Hodge Podge Lodge.
Courier file photo
The Oaks at 202 Prairie
Street is on this year’s home tour and now serves as The Oaks of
Montgomery Antiques and Consignments
The Oaks - 202 Prairie - The second home of
Nat Hart Davis was built in 1876. It’s now home to The Oaks of
Montgomery Antiques & Consignments.
Addison-Gandy House - 104 Prairie - Built
in 1892 for J.B. and Martha Davis Addison, local historian Martha
Gandy’s grandparents.
Old Post Office and Drug Store - 14356
Liberty St (FM 149) - Previously Smith’s “Drug Store” and from 1936 to
1972, the US Post Office. Rouse said the soda counter and old-time post
office boxes still reside in the building. It’s owned by the Montgomery
Historical Society now and used as retail space.
Fernland Historical Park - Clepper Street -
The Arnold-Simonton Home, the only home in the county on the National
Register of Historic Places will be open as well as other structures at
Fernland Park. They however, will not be decorated for the holidays.
The tour is from 4 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for
students and children. Tickets can be bought on Dec. 12 after 2 p.m. at
the Nat Hart Davis Museum at FM 149 near Texas 105.
Visit www.experiencemontgomery.com for
more.
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