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!
