Stefanie Joyner is getting her Christmas wish 10 days early this year. The executive director of the Cherokee County Historical Society has been wishing and working toward having a holiday home tour in Canton since she took over the job eight years ago.
“I thought of doing a tour the very first year I moved here,” said the Ball Ground resident. “It’s just not that easy to get people to take that leap. But we did do one in Woodstock in 2007 and had such a good response that I decided to float the idea again this year. This time, the support was really good.”
Next Friday and Saturday, Joyner’s dream will become a reality when the first Historic Canton Holiday Tour of Homes opens the doors to three private homes as well as three public and commercial buildings. The event will be staffed by 45 volunteers from the Society’s 500 members, who have spent the last two weeks decorating the properties.
While the tour is primarily a fundraiser, it also gives the public a chance to learn more about historic preservation efforts in the county, said Joyner.
“Part of our mission is to promote historic preservation, so a tour is a great way to combine a fundraiser with awareness,” she said. “It’s also a good way to get people into these homes to see how liveable they can be.”
The inaugural tour showcases the county’s marble courthouse that anchors the center of town. The Jones and Cloud Insurance building, rebuilt after a fire, will also be featured. Shuttles from the downtown district will take tour-goers to Edgewater Hall, a 1922 brick tw0-story that anchors a property bordering the Etowah River. Now a doctor’s office, the interior is accented with locally-quarried marble.
The featured houses include the Bell-Grant property, built around 1900 and expanded during the 1950s. In 2003, the house was renovated, and a kitchen and porch were added. The 1950s gunite pool was also restored and landscaped to preserve 100-year-old bamboo plants. The Jones-Johnston home, built in 1948, is a raised ranch designed by the same architects who created Cherokee High School and the Coca-Cola headquarters. The current owners took over the property in 1998 and updated it throughout - including installing the first central air system. The 1919 Spears-Eggleston house is a classic Craftsman that has also been restored.
“It’s really a lot of work to welcome a few hundred people into your house one weekend,” said Joyner. “But it is something I would like to do every year from now on.”
The tour kicks off Friday with a 6 to 9 p.m. candlelight and champagne tour. Saturday hours are 10 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 until Monday; after that date, the price is $20. Tickets and information are online at rockbarn.org; 770-345-3288.
Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 404-514-6162.
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