The Greenbrier Historical Society is excited to announce its 2019 Home Tour Weekend events.
June 7, 8, and 9 will be full of beauty and grandeur, with more than a hint of drama, and a reoccurring theme of pottery and history. It begins on Friday, June 7, at 6 p.m. with a Garden Party at the home of Dr. Kyle and Ann Fort, where the tiles around the swimming pool echo its storied past. Locally sourced ingredients from the Turnrow Collective will form the base for appetizers from six local venues including The General Lewis Inn, The French Goat, The Humble Tomato, Cakes and Cones, Blackwells, and Patina. They will be paired with beer from the Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company as well as wine.
The Fort’s hospitality is legendary, and guests will enjoy fabulous views across what may be the oldest private swimming pool in Greenbrier County, and terraces displaying stunning flowers. Built in 1926 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Hardy, this Spanish Eclectic style house was named “Mirapaso,” meaning “behold the pass,” for the stunning view of the White Sulphur Gap. An original guest book from June 1928 to May 1936 records many happy days and large parties that were held there.
It was sold in 1941 to the Nallen family who were staunch Catholics. When Mr. and Mrs. Jack Nallen became too feeble to attend church they built their own chapel in an upstairs bedroom, or sleeping porch. It is said a Catholic Bishop came to visit them and held services in the chapel. When the Forts bought the house in 1983, they found kneeling benches and an altar in the attic. During their restoration work they also found a number of liquor bottles hidden in the walls! Since that space had served as the Hardy boys’ bedroom before becoming a chapel, the origin of those liquor bottles is uncertain.
On Saturday, June 8, the traditional tour of exceptional homes will begin at 10 a.m. This year, one of the homes, the Hunter House, owned by Paul and Mary Linquist, will feature two restored fireplaces which are surrounded by tiles which were made by the Wheatley Company in Cincinnati in 1906 and include a display of G.N. Fulton pottery. Another home, owned by Steve and DeEtta Hunter, is said to have been the location of one of the two known potters in Lewisburg. Also on tour will be the home of Ellen Goodwin, built in 1795, with its fabulous collection of furniture by Austin May; the 1850 home of John Patterson and Brian Daugherty which once served as the Catholic Rectory; and the Second North House, home to Elizabeth Destiny. Rounding out the tour is the more modern home of Aaron and Sparrow Huffman, built in 1952 as a vacation home, and now a lovely family dwelling.
On Sunday, June 9, starting at 1:30 p.m., there will be drama in the cemeteries as four “Graveyard Townsfolk” come to life in the Dick Pointer and Old Stone Cemeteries under the skilled hand of award-winning writer and director, Pamela Barry. Cemetery Preservationist Morgan Bunn will also be on hand to discuss the proper way to honor and preserve these beautiful monuments and the people they commemorate and the afternoon will end with dessert, provided by The Greenbrier, in the Fellowship Hall of Old Stone Presbyterian Church.
For more information and tickets, visit the Greenbrier Historical Society/North House Museum or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/greenbrierhistorical/ and web page http://www.greenbrierhistorical.org/
As always, the Greenbrier Historical Society is extremely grateful to the all the people who come together to make this weekend a success from the guests to the sponsors, the homeowners, the Garden Club members, the writer/director and actors, and all the volunteers whose behind the scenes work make it happen so smoothly.
