The 2019 Christmas Home Tour includes five log and country homes and a church. This one-day tour is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Included on the tour is this 1935 renovated log home of Pam and Bruce Gould, who were told the cabin was moved to its present site in 1935 from Jackson County where it had been a one-room schoolhouse.
Jackson County Historical Society confirmed that several of its old log schoolhouses had been moved to Brown County by Frederick Bates Johnson and Jack Rogers. The two men had purchased a considerable amount of land along the road that was being developed as State Road 135, and were moving in cabins as vacation homes for sale or rent. Many of these structures can be seen today along north State Road 135. When the Goulds acquired the cabin in 2011, they had to completely renovate the house and foundation.
Another home on the tour is the second-generation log cabin of Herb and Nancy Brown, estimated to have been built at about the time of the Civil War. It is considered a second-generation log cabin because it has interior log walls that create a hallway from the entrance door to what would have been a back door. The Browns have completely renovated this home as well.
Other homes on the tour include the 2015 country home (with fantastic view!) of Mark and Kathy Shields; the town home of Faith Stephens, which was built in 1991 by the Brown County High School Building Trades program students; the 2016 log home of Bill and Linda Todd, which includes a barn with donkeys, alpacas, a horse and goat; and St. Agnes Catholic Church, built in 2003.
Christmas is always a special time of year, and you will find all the sites decorated for the holidays. Tickets are available for $15 at the History Center gift shop and the Visitors Bureau. Shuttles will be available to transport visitors to some of the homes.
But be advised: to ensure the safety and well-being of all visitors, no smoking, no strollers and no pets are allowed.
We invite you to come to the History Center for the Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday, Nov. 29, at 5:30 p. m. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
It’s that time of year, especially for the young and the young-at-heart. Santa Claus is coming to the History Center. Yes, you read that correctly: Santa will be here Friday, Nov. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. Santa will also be here on Saturday, Nov. 30 from noon to 5 p.m. If you miss him on Friday, you may bring the family and have a heart-to-heart with Santa while he is here.
Best wishes for your holiday season from the History Center.
Submitted by Pauline Hoover, Brown County Historical Society
