Homes, gardens to be featured in tour

Some of Beaufort County’s most delightful historic structures will be featured in the upcoming Springtime Homes and Garden Tour, hosted by the Washington Area Historic Foundation.

“It will be a lovely day in the neighborhood, or rather in the original Washington, May 7,” said Dee Congleton, who is active in various WAHF events and activities. “The foundation features 17 homes and gardens.”

The tour, slated to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, includes homes dating back to the 1700s and gardens planted in the 21st century, Congleton noted.

Refreshments will be served during the tour at I Can’t Believe It’s a Bookstore, located on Main Street in the old Bank of Washington building.

Advance tickets are $15; tickets purchased the day of the tour are priced at $20, according to Congleton. Advance tickets are now on sale at the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce, Washington Visitors Center and Beaufort County Arts Council. On Saturday, the day of the tour, tickets can be obtained only at the visitors center, with WAHF members manning a booth beginning at 9 a.m.

Proceeds from the tour will aid the WAHF in its landscaping work at the new Festival Park project, Congleton said.

Among the homes featured in the tour is Elmwood, a circa 1820s Main Street home occupied by Dr. Frank Stallings and his wife, Alice, for 45 years. The couple raised their five children in the house.

According to a listing in the Washington Tourism Development Authority’s walking tour of Washington guidebook, Elmwood was built by Col. Joshua Tayloe. It was from the front of this house that the Washington Grays marched off to war in 1861. Elmwood was one of the few buildings in Washington not destroyed by fires during the Civil War; in 1910 it was moved to its present location from its original site at the end of West Main Street.

The tour of Elmwood will allow visitors to enjoy its spacious entrance hall, complete with a winding staircase that was purchased in New York, as well as the dining room and two parlors, according to Alice Stallings. The wallpaper in the dining room is particularly interesting.

“That wallpaper was here when we moved in,” Stallings said during a recent “sneak peak” tour of the home. “I have an idea it was put up in the late ’40s or ’50s. My decorator thought it was French. I have a sister in France and she researched it but could never find anything to match it.”

Marsha Myers occupied the home prior to the Stallings family. When Myers passed away, relatives took what family mementos they wanted from the home and much of the furnishings were sold with it and remain in Elmwood today.

The Stallings have put their own imprint on the house, working around the pieces left behind by Myers. For example, Stallings is an accomplished artist and her work is in evidence throughout the home. And pottery created by her best friend, the late Irene Glover Forbes, adorns the mantle pieces and shelves in the parlors.

Many Washington residents will recognize Elmwood as the home where three mannequins, attired as carolers, are displayed on a second-floor balcony during the Christmas season. Formerly they served as dress mannequins until Stallings, with the assistance of Whiting Toler, created realistic heads to adorn the figures. Except during the holiday season, the mannequins reside in Elmwood’s attic, carefully draped in sheeting to protect them from dust.

While Congleton has been busy helping with preparations for the tour, she has also found time to ready her own home for the tour. The Marsh House, where she resides with husband Dallas, is located on Water Street and was built circa 1795. While the house contains many of its original architectural details, Dee Congleton is particularly proud of her colonial garden, which is also featured on the tour. The garden’s design incorporates the use of boxwoods, bachelor’s buttons and roses, among other plantings.

Other sites featured during the tour are: the 1896 home of Jonathan and Elizabeth Jones; the 1915 Henry Bridgeman home now owned by Jerry and Sue Creech; the 1857 Sam Williams homestead owned by Judith T. Hickson; the 1901 home of Wayne and Karen Melton; the 1848 Rodman House owned by Robert and Vicki Murphy; the 1816 John B. Fowle House owned by Kim Melk; the 1880 home of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Young; the 1908 home of Ross and Chris Hamory; the 1850/1930 home of Don and Debbie Morrisey; the 1870 Potts-Bragaw Home owned by Don Stroud; the 1780 Myers House owned by Herman and Debra Gaskins; the 1924 Bowen House owned by Ray and D.J. Midget; the 2008 home of Bill and Rebecca Clark; the 1852 Bank of Washington building owned by Marie Tomasulo; the West Main Street garden of Sandy Ratcliff; and the East Main Street garden of Annette Jefferson.