Author: PHW

The Obed Waite House, 214 West Cork Street

Advance tickets required; sales limited to 100 PHW members. Preview Party tickets are still available through PHW at the Hexagon House. Tickets are $50/adult member and $80/adult nonmember. Nonmember ticket price includes a 1 year membership to PHW.

Are you a PHW member? Thinking about joining? Members are invited to our preview of the tour houses and Christmas party on Saturday, December 7  6-9 P.M. The Obed Waite House will only be open for the Saturday sneak peek!

The Obed Waite House contains a secret—behind the 19th century facade is one of the oldest inhabited residential homes in Winchester. The original part of the log and stone house was built in 1795 by Obed Waite, a lawyer who came to Winchester, married James Wood’s granddaughter, and eventually became Mayor, State Attorney and President of the Bank of the Valley. As his prosperity grew, he added onto the house in 1806 and the 1820s, eventually building 119 South Washington when he outgrew his first home.

The house passed in the 1830s to his son-in-law, Washington George Singleton, another attorney who was appointed Clerk of the U.S. Circuit Court by President Andrew Jackson. He was a unionist Democrat throughout the Civil War, which resulted in federal court being held in the living room in 1864 and a series of salacious disputes with the Confederate-supporting Byrd family across the street.

The Eberhardts, who appear to be the first non-attorneys to own the home, are fortunate that the prior owners cared lovingly for the house. Renovated in the late 19th century and after the Second World War, the original woodworking, floors, and architectural details have largely been preserved. The Eberhardts have focused on additional restoration of features, such as the fireplaces, and accenting the Federalist architecture by using period colors and removing some of the modern changes, like closets, to the house.

Bough and Dough Shop artist Linda Haile will have notecards and the original painting of the Obed Waite House for sale this year. Look for the display in the parlor of the Hexagon House!

Thanks to our sponsor in 2019 Escutcheon Brewing Company. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check out their services!

163 Academy Lane

Holiday House Tour tickets for Sunday, December 8 are on sale now at the following Winchester locations: The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, and the Hexagon House. Sunday tickets are available for order online through EventBrite. Tickets are $25/adult, $6/child 6-12, and free for children under 6.

Built in 2006, this contemporary home was constructed for Richard Nanna by Joseph Mohr. It is now home to Bryan and Mary Rhodes. The brick façade, perhaps a tip of the hat to the brick and stone Winchester Academy that once stood nearby, shows Neoclassical and Palladian influences, as well as a Craftsman-inspired bay window. The complex and multilevel gable roof lines, however, are a hallmark of early 21st century residential design.

The interior presents an excellent example of the open floor plan concept, with the kitchen, dining and living areas combined into a single space. In a true post-modern style, the interior features a combination of elements from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.  The hand-hewn wood mantel calls back to a 19th century joist, but sits in juxtaposition to the large open space that could only be achieved through its modern steel replacement. Throughout, Neoclassical elements like curved pediments, columns, and crown moldings provide a backdrop for mostly modern amenities and interior design, creating what Robert Venturi might call a “calculated ambiguity of meaning.”  The house truly brings you Through the Centuries of Winchester’s history up to the modern day.

Thanks to our sponsor in 2019 Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check out their services!

512 Courtfield Avenue

Holiday House Tour tickets for Sunday, December 8 are on sale now at the following Winchester locations: The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, and the Hexagon House. Sunday tickets are available for order online through EventBrite. Tickets are $25/adult, $6/child 6-12, and free for children under 6.

Pat and Ellen Mason’s 20th-century home features materials and styles from earlier eras, befitting this period of reinterpretation of historic American construction. In 1938, Raymond Saxe, a local antique dealer, took his builders to Williamsburg to learn about Colonial craftsmanship. They constructed this Georgian-style home with old bricks, using a Flemish bond pattern.

The interior features mantels, woodwork and hardware salvaged from local buildings which were being demolished. Rich dark pine doors and woodworking create a warm and receptive atmosphere. Stairs rise from a center hallway, flanked by pine-trimmed front rooms used now as the dining room and study. Distinctive chair-rail molding lines the walls. Of the six fireplaces, three are in corners, and all feature salvaged woodwork.

The Masons purchased the house from the Saxe estate in 1979. The rear of the home opens into a bright and sunny upper-story addition designed by local architects Reader & Swartz in 2005. The family tradition is to have a  Christmas tree in the corner of the sun room. Other Mason family holiday traditions include a large collection of nutcrackers, Moravian Star ornaments, and decorations of silver and of needlepoint. Visitors will enjoy seeing abundant greens and floral arrangements by friends from the Hawthorne Garden Club. 

Thanks to our sponsor in 2019 Dominion Real Estate Associates. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check out their services!

421 West Clifford Street

Holiday House Tour tickets for Sunday, December 8 are on sale now at the following Winchester locations: The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, and the Hexagon House. Sunday tickets are available for order online through EventBrite. Tickets are $25/adult, $6/child 6-12, and free for children under 6.

Textbook-style Victorian dwellings were late arriving in Winchester, but when constructed rank among the best in style and execution of those found anywhere in America. This home, built at the end of the 19th century, follows the traditional pattern of a Folk Victorian. Based on the richly ornate and polychromatic houses of the elites of society, the Folk Victorian was simplified and designed for the everyday family.

Colloquially known as “painted ladies,” these homes often sport color schemes ranging from bold and bright to whimsical pastels. The colors draw the eye to  the interplay of decorative materials and key architectural features common in Victorian construction. The exterior of this home retains its deeply shaded porch with delicate spindles, a pseudo-tower feature, and complex intersecting gable and hip rooflines of the Folk Victorian style. The Craftsman-inspired bay window and otherwise restrained exterior decorative elements hint at the return of architectural simplicity in the early 20th century.

Over the years this home was used as a boarding house and a private nursing home, hosting people known and forgotten in Winchester’s history. It was returned to a single-family dwelling in the 1970s. Current owners Scott and Margie Cullers are in the never-ending process of updating and maintaining while taking great care to preserve the original architectural features of their home. 

Thanks to our sponsor in 2019 Hunt Country Wealth Management. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check out their services!

The Daniel Morgan House, 226 Amherst Street

Holiday House Tour tickets for Sunday, December 8 are on sale now at the following Winchester locations: The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, and the Hexagon House. Sunday tickets are available for order online through EventBrite. Tickets are $25/adult, $6/child 6-12, and free for children under 6.

The Daniel Morgan House, home of the Revolutionary War General, was built in 1786 by London merchant George Flowerdew Norton on a slight knoll of Amherst Street known as Ambler Hill. It is one of the few surviving homes of the period to be built of timber frame construction and is among the dozen oldest non-log buildings in Winchester’s Historic District. With nearly 7,500 square feet of living space, it also ranks among the Historic District’s most spacious historic homes, including an unusually large lot for a city property.

General Morgan, famed rifleman, moved here as his retirement home in 1800 and reputedly built the western portion of the house in brick. He died in the upstairs master bedroom on July 6, 1802. Found throughout the home are the original Dutch elbow locks, doors, and red pine flooring. Most of the eight mantels date to the 1830s when the house was upgraded by Alexander Tidball. Other major architectural features, including the staircase, room layout, paneling and wainscoting, would have been familiar to Morgan himself. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Mr. and Mrs. Schember’s eclectic collections of artwork, furnishings, and Christmas tree decorations were acquired during their extensive foreign and domestic travels.

Bough and Dough Shop artist Linda Haile will have notecards and the original painting of the Daniel Morgan House for sale this year. Look for the display in the parlor of the Hexagon House!

Thanks to our major sponsor in 2019 Colony Realty. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check out their services!

The Bough and Dough Shop opens November 22. Several of our artists were able to set up early this year, and we are pleased to offer you a sneak peek at some of the wares that will soon be for sale!

Sky Blue Pink by Phyllis is one of our new artists this year. She creates original watercolor cards on high quality paper stock. Each piece is one of a kind. They can be used as a greeting card and are then suitable for framing by the recipient. Look for flowers, butterflies, trees, and winter scenery among her offerings.

Best in Glass returns this year with an expanded collection of stained and fused glass items. Coasters plates, and ornaments return along with bottle stoppers, votives, spoon rests and decorative trees. There is even one small decorative vase and some mousepads and notebooks in the mix. Each piece of glass is one of a kind and truly stunning!

George S. Davis is another of our new artisans for 2019. He crafts unique tables from reclaimed wood. His offerings this year are primarily walnut side tables. The smaller tables will be on display in the foyer, and a larger walnut table suitable for a dining room will be on hand as well.

Rosemary Tarrant is back with her popular quilted microwave bowls, coasters, trees, and ornaments. She has added small fabric baskets, dishcloths, and tissue holders to the mix this year. Rosemary will not be able to replenish her stock in 2019, so if you see something you want, be here early to claim your goodies!

New in our food selection this year is locally produced wildflower honey from Buzzword Honey in Berryville. Look for the jars immediately to your right as you enter the back door of the Hexagon House.

David Sipp of the Alley Gallery in downtown Winchester is back this year with art card prints featuring Christmas scenes as well as Winchester images. Cards are priced individually or in sets of four. David will also have work available in Deck the Walls upstairs if you don’t see anything you fancy at the Bough and Dough Shop.

Very Merry Mittens joins us as a new fiber artist in 2019. Her work takes unwanted sweaters and recycles them into stylish mittens, brooches, ornaments, and pillows. Her pieces are always unique due to the nature of her materials.

Thank you to our artists, and thank you as well to our major sponsor in 2019 the Shenandoah Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check our their services!

Happy Friday! As you know, we are closing in on our increased updates for the Holiday House Tour and Bough & Dough Shop. We are also prepping for the Shop opening at the Hexagon House on Friday, November 22.

From now until November 22, please be patient if you stop by the Hexagon House to purchase tickets. We are able to process orders but might need to take a few extra moments. Sunday tickets are also available now at The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, or online.

Booklets are in production and not expected to arrive before November 15, but you can get a sneak peek of the booklet and the house descriptions in our online PDF. Be sure to patronize and thank the advertising sponsors, especially our major sponsor Bank of Clarke County, for once again helping us produce a lovely booklet.