AMERICUS — Homes with a wide range of architectural styles and unique features have been selected for the 2007 Christmas tour of historic homes of Americus.

The event, the eighth annual tour of historic homes to be presented by Sumter Historic Trust, is among the highlights of the holiday season as the tour affords an opportunity to glimpse inside these stately homes that are festively decorated in holiday finery.

A total of seven properties are included in the tour scheduled for noon-6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 and include five private residences, open to the public for the first time, along with the Lee Council House, the 1902 Italianate mansion and headquarters for the Historic Trust and headquarters for the tour, and the historic Windsor Hotel in downtown Americus. Tickets are $20 each and available at the Americus Welcome Center, 125 W. Lamar St. and Minnick Interiors, 112 Cotton Ave., and the Lee Council House the day of the tour.

Private residences featured on the tour include the homes of Sally Edgemon, 227 Brown St., Mark Minnick, 314 Taylor St., Nell Pittman and Becky Acton, 307 Taylor St., Dr. and Mrs. Bill Wysochansky, 170 Quail Trail and Mr. and Mrs. John Popwell, 505 S. Lee St.



Home of Mr. and Mrs. John Popwell

505 S. Lee St. (circa 1850)

The home of Mr. and Mrs. John Popwell at 505 S. Lee St. was built about 1850 in Oglethorpe, and moved three years later to Americus by Charles J. Malone because of the yellow fever epidemic in Macon County.

After the Civil War, the house was occupied by the family of William W. Hooks, who sold it in 1883 to John A. Cobb, son of the eminent Georgia statesman Howell Cobb of Athens. Capt. Cobb lived in the house until his death in 1925, and his children, including Miss Sarah Cobb, well known and beloved local educator for whom Sarah Cobb Elementary School is named, made it their home until the 1960s. Emory Rylander, uncle of the current owner and a prominent Americus businessman, purchased the property and did extensive renovations.

The next owners were Henry King Stanford, Ph.D., former president of Georgia Southwestern College and interim president of the University of Georgia, and his wife Ruth. The Stanfords made this their home after his retirement as president of the University of Miami. The Stanfords in turn sold the house to the present owner John Popwell and his wife Trish and again major renovations were made to the house and grounds.

Built in the Greek revival style of architecture prevalent in this country from about 1830-1860, the typical features of the style exemplified in the Popwell house include a symmetrical center hall floor plan, low pitched hipped roof, wide porch with square columns and heavy entablature with dentil molding and massive door casing with pilasters and entablature framing rectangular transom and sidelights. The flush (as opposed to clapboard) siding of the facade under the porch is common in southern examples. The two over two window sash and the pediment window hoods with their pierced ornamentation date from an 1870s renovation. The Popwell home remains today perhaps the finest example of its type in Americus. It is beautifully and tastefully furnished with a myriad of fine antiques and collectibles assembled from around the world.



Home of Sally Edgemon

227 Brown St. (circa 1892)

The home of Sally Edgemon is a good example of the Victorian architecture that is so prevalent in the City’s historic district, an area of the community where founders and early leaders built their homes. This Queen Anne style home was built in 1892, by George O. Loving, a local oil industrialist. Among his children is a daughter, Ethel, who grew up in this house and married T.B. Hooks in 1913. They are the grandparents of state Sen. George Hooks of Americus, whose home is also in the historic district.

The house has gone through various changes over the period of its 105-year life span. During World War II, pilot trainees at Souther Field were housed there; later it was the site of a kindergarten, a cake kitchen and then divided into rental units.

Charles F. Crisp purchased the house in 2000, returning it to a single family dwelling. Mrs. Edgemon bought the house a year later and has furnished it with a vast collection of English and family antiques, along with collectibles. The walls are hung with tropical bird prints by John Gould and of particular interest is a handsome print of Foolish Pleasure, the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner that was owned by Edgemon’s late grandfather. Also on display are a number trophies won by Foolish Pleasure.



Home of Mark Minick

314 Taylor St. (circa 1980)

The home of Mark Minick is classic traditional and tucked away in a charming cul-de-sac near Rees Park. Built by Reggie Daniel and Steve Cosby in 1980, the house is a good example of Colonial architecture.

With a discerning eye for detail and eclectic style of decorating, Minick has transformed the house into a truly breathtaking stop on the tour. There is something of interest to catch the eye of everyone, from the wide collection of century-old artwork and blue and white porcelain to the minutest details of handsomely appointed furnishings, antiques and collectibles.

The formal living room is furnished with such pieces as a flame-front mahogany banker’s secretary purchased from an estate in Alabama and an 1840s grand piano by Jim Broadwood, the official spinet maker for British royalty. The Christmas tree is a work of art and beautifully decorated with a large collection of Christopher Radko ornaments. The guest bedroom is furnished with a handsome mahogany four-poster plantation bed originally owned by Capt. Ruel W. Anderson of Hawkinsville.

Minick’s ability to place all the accouterments in a timeless and tasteful fashion gives a feeling of warmth and true sense of home.



Home of Nell Pittman and Becky Acton

307 Taylor St. (circa 1890)

Perhaps the oldest duplex in Americus, dating back to 1890, is at 307-309 Taylor St. near Rees Park. The building has been through many transformations since it was built by Pulaski L. Holt as a single-family dwelling. A year after its construction, the house unfortunately burned, but was rebuilt. The house was converted into a duplex in 1912, after the original owners moved next door. The 1930s brought still another change when it was turned into a four-unit apartment house.

In 2001, Henry L. Crisp and his son Charles F. Crisp purchased the property and made major renovations, returning it to a duplex. Nell Pittman and Becky Acton are the current occupants of number 307. The exterior, with its deep overhanging eaves, exposed rafters and boxy porch columns supported on brick pedestals, reflects the prevailing Craftsman style of the 1910s.

The interior has some unusual architectural features. The downstairs fireplaces have arched openings and massive unadorned brick mantles that are typical of the Craftsman style, while the beaded door and window casings with their bull’s-eye corner blocks were probably recycled from the earlier Victorian house. The most unusual and arresting feature of the interior, however, is the decorative stamped metal that covers the walls and ceilings of nearly every room. Of special interest, are the grape vines in the frieze in the dining room.



Home of Dr. and Mrs. Bill Wysochansky

170 Quail Trail

This home south of the city off of South Lee Street Road is a not to be missed treasure trove featuring an eclectic mix of personal items reflecting the interests and collections of the homeowners Bill and Mary Wysochansky. The exterior brickwork of Ohio brick is unique as it features a pleasing blend of colors. The exterior dentil molding was custom designed and hand cut to specification. The interior floors are reclaimed brick and reworked heart pine.

For the Christmas season, the couple’s 5,000-sq. ft. modified French provincial home with Chippendale influence is festive thoughout with 11 elaborately decorated Christmas trees while their extensive Halloween collections are on display all through the year.

Immediately after stepping into the entrance foyer just beyond the double front doors, you can walk straight ahead into the great room, but if you turn to the right, you will be immediately drawn into the gentleman’s game room that is dominated by a nine-foot Brunswick billiard table. The walls are adorned with an oversized portrait of the couple’s large and extended family along with some special prints and billiard patent information. Although shooting a game of pool is tempting, the other rooms of the house beckon.

The kitchen adjacent to the formal dining room serves as the heart of the home where a touch screen computer keeps the homeowners alerted to their busy schedule of appointments. The original and eye catching artwork in the breakfast area is by Joyce Polance, a Chicago artist of some renown, along with Bill and Mary’s watercolors and needle point they created.

The fireplace is the focal point of the great room, where just beyond is the large back porch that affords a panoramic view of the beautifully landscaped lawn and garden where wildlife sometimes wanders onto the property from the banks of the nearby Muckalee Creek.

The master bedroom on the first floor is decorated for the holidays with a beautiful twinkling Christmas tree trimmed in red and gold. Also downstairs is Mary’s office, which does double duty as the Red Hat room appointed with some of the treasures of Americus’ Red Hat Club, the Muckalee Madams decorated with a brightly trimmed Christmas tree. Altogether the house has three bedrooms with the fourth bedroom serving as a den for Bill, a retired college professor and poker enthusiast. Here you can admire his creative artwork, a roadrunner painting that hangs just above the original advertisement he used as the model.



The Lee Council House

318 E. Church St.

The Lee Council House is tour headquarters, where tickets should be redeemed for the tour guide book that includes a map and information about each house. Tickets will also be available there on the day of the tour. The Council house, once a private residence, has been owned by Sumter Historic Trust since 1975. During the past 32 years, it has been meticulously and authentically restored.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee George Council of Americus built this large Italianate mansion in 1902, two years after their marriage. The exterior features superb terracotta work, restored balustrade porch, beautiful stained glass window transoms throughout and inlaid floors. The house is furnished with period antiques, and one of a kind items, along with Council family furnishings, memorabilia and a library that includes books by noted Sumter County authors such as President Jimmy Carter and Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity International. An extraordinary architectural interior feature is the double staircase dominated by a panel of three stained glass panels on the stair landing that overlooks the grand hall.



Windsor Hotel

125 W. Lamar St.

The historic Windsor Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, anchors the downtown business district and has been an area landmark since its grand opening in 1892. The hotel, a fine example of eclectic Victorian design, was closed by the owners in the mid-1970s and donated to the City of Americus. Through various grants and private investments, the Windsor underwent a $5.8 million restoration and reopened in September 1991. It is now privately owned. Tour visitors will be guided through the main three-tier atrium lobby, the Dayton Room, the Ladies Tea Parlor, Floyd’s Bar, the Roosevelt Board Room, the Grand Dining room and the Victorian.