Christmas Tour of Homes

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It is time for the 15th annual Christmas Tour of Homes in Greenfield hosted by the Greenfield Historical Society. The tour will be held from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8 and will feature five homes, a church and the B&O Depot.

A chicken noodle dinner will precede the tour at the Grain and Hay Building in Greenfield from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost of the meal is $10 and the menu includes chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, slaw, roll and butter, drink and a choice of cakes.

The church featured this year is the Buckskin Community Church located in South Salem at 2862 Church St. It was originally established as a Presbyterian church in October of 1802, meeting on the James Irvine farm. For two years the congregation met in the woods or in cabins along Buckskin Creek. In 1804, a log cabin was built as the first church. In 1828 a new church was built in the South Salem Cemetery.

Many pastors have served this congregation, but the Rev. H. S. Fullerton (1838-1863) was instrumental in establishing the Salem Academy in 1842 and planning and building the present church, which was finished in the spring of 1856. The stained glass windows in the church are not original to the building but came from Cincinnati and Chillicothe.

In February 2010, the church became the Buckskin Community Church as it separated from the Presbytery. The latest renovation has been the kitchen in the basement of the church. The pastor is the Rev. Mark Current and the congregation has seen much growth in the last five years.

“The historical society encourages you to visit this 163-year-old church. The congregation welcomes you to come and visit with them during the tour,” the historical society said in a news release.

The first house featured will be at 1285 Irwin Lane, the home of Nathan and Kara Roberts. It is located only two miles from the Buckskin church, just across the Buckskin covered bridge. The home was built in 1834. The cornerstone can still be seen on the front of the house.

“The Robertses love the 11-acre property which sits along Buckskin Creek and also has a pond. Kara loves walking the land and enjoying its peaceful setting away from town. Nathan enjoys the history of the home. They have been living there almost two years,” the news release said. “The former owners did a major renovation in 2007. It is now a more modern home inside with its original historic stone on the outside. The Robertses will have Christmas trees in every room with different themes for each tree.”

The second house is the home of Jon and Erin Goddard located at 2943 Lower Twin Road. The split level home was built in 2017 having a living room, eating area and kitchen on the first level and three bedrooms and two baths upstairs. A family room and additional bedroom complete the lower level of the home.

“The family’s favorite room in the house is the family room because it is a place where they can relax and laugh together. In the summer they enjoy their deck and in-ground pool along with the barn where they raise 4-H pigs. Their Christmas decorations will have a classic red and gold trim throughout the home with three large trees in the main living areas and three small trees in the kids’ rooms,” the news release said.

The homes of Ruth Johnson at 749 Jefferson St., Patricia and Clement Francis at 310 N. Sixth St. and Patti Garman at 709 Madison Place will be featured in a later story.

During the tour, the B & O Depot will be open for visitors. The depot displays were reorganized in 2016 with the addition of Tom Adams’ model railroad display. He has made scale models of some of the Greenfield buildings and homes during the 1920s along with the railroad tracks and depots. In October of 2017, he added downtown stores of Greenfield in the 1950s and ’60s. In 2018, he included his model of McClain High School. This year he has added more of Jefferson Street between Washington Street and Second Street.

“We encourage you to stop in and see this wonderful addition along with the military display,” the historical society said.

“All five families are excited about the tour this year and hope many visitors come through to see all their hard work and Christmas decorations. The historical society truly appreciates all their time and effort. The tour helps the society carry on its work to preserve and share Greenfield’s history,” the news release said.

The tickets are $10 for the tour and are available at the Community Savings Bank starting Nov. 26 through noon on Dec. 7. Tickets will also be available the day of the tour at the Grain and Hay building and at the homes.

If you need gifts for Christmas, the historical society has several possibilities, including its book on McClain High School available at the Grain and Hay building.

Information for this story was provided by the Greenfield Historical Society.

This is the home of Nathan and Kara Roberts at 1285 Irwin Lane. It will be one of the homes featured in the Dec. 8 Greenfield Historical Society Christmas Tour of Homes.
https://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/11/web1_Tour-pic-1.jpgThis is the home of Nathan and Kara Roberts at 1285 Irwin Lane. It will be one of the homes featured in the Dec. 8 Greenfield Historical Society Christmas Tour of Homes. Submitted photos

This is the Buckskin Community Church in South Salem.
https://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/11/web1_Tour-pic-2.jpgThis is the Buckskin Community Church in South Salem. Submitted photos

This is the home of Jon and Erin Goddard at 2943 Lower Twin Road.
https://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/11/web1_Tour-pic-3.jpgThis is the home of Jon and Erin Goddard at 2943 Lower Twin Road. Submitted photos
Greenfield Historical Society hosting 15th annual event

The Times-Gazette

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