Breaking News
Local News

Tour puts historic houses on display in Marietta

By Michelle Dillon 5 min read

History buffs, fans of architecture and those who love old houses had a chance to see several historic Marietta homes this weekend.

The Castle Museum hosted its annual Historic Marietta Tour of Homes on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The Castle Executive Director Scott Britton said that the museum has been holding the tour since 2018, though they took some time off because of COVID and restarted the tour in 2023. He said originally the tour had been done at Christmastime by various groups before The Castle took over. He said the tour was moved to Memorial Day weekend because there is less "hubbub" than at Christmastime.

According to Britton, the tour is a way to show off Marietta.

"It's a way to show off our town and give people an excuse to come to Marietta on the holiday weekend and show off what we do, and even more so, the people of the town really embrace this," he said.

Britton said people from all over the state of Ohio come for the tour. Lori Vance participated in the tour on Saturday and Sunday. She is from Cleveland but also owns an historic home in Marietta and said she came to town over the weekend because she loves the tour.

"I like the tour because I see neat things in houses...this one yesterday...the big one by The Castle, they had that old elevator in there and I was like 'Oh my God, it looks like a birdcage,'" Vance said.

According to a brochure for the tour, on Saturday people saw the 1890s Lepore Home with its circular front porch and round red roof; the Queen Anne style Myers Home from around 1900 with its secret bookcase entrance to its library; the 1890s brick Smith Home which was originally the home of Marietta's cemetery sexton; the American Foursquare style 1930 Newland Home with its Craftsman style woodwork and its built-in cabinetry; the Arts and Crafts style 1920s Bergin Home with its cut-glass windows and tiled fireplace; and the 1855 Gothic Revival style The Castle Museum, with its octagonal tower and stone capped spires.

According to the brochure, on Sunday people enjoyed the Bond Home; the 1910s Craftsman style Mullins Home with its front gable and buff-colored brick; the 1905 Queen Anne style Burns Home with its bay window with rising sun motifs on each side; the early 1900s Victorian style Calvert Home with a sunburst medallion over its front porch and fleur-de-lis stenciled steps; and the pink 1901 late Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style Vrooman House with its wrap around porch and blue accents.

The Bond Home is one of the homes Vance saw Sunday morning. Piersall said the Bond Home was built in 1835 and is the oldest home included on the tour and the floors in it are the original ones.

According to the brochure, the Bond Home was built by Harvard Medical School graduate John Cotton, a doctor, and his wife Susan in 1835 and is now owned by Janet Bond, who lives in the home full-time.

"It reminded me of the house I grew up in," Bond said about why she bought the house. "I kind of felt like "Oh, I'm home" because it reminded me of that house."

Bond grew up in the Israel Putnam House in Devola, according to Piersall, which is even older than the Bond Home.

Bond's favorite room in the house is the front room that she turned into s library. She said she likes it because of the window. According to Bond, she remodeled some of the house, specifically the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen, which went from tile to wood floors to match the floors in the rest of the house.

According to the brochure, Bond is a lover of clocks and there is an 1840 English ogee clock on the mantel above the fireplace in the living room. There are bedrooms upstairs and the beds are covered with quilts hand-sewn by Bond's mother. Bond has even shown off her sense of humor in the home. Behind a little door in the upstairs hall with a sign that says "Open if you are brave," is a skeleton with a hat, a noose, and a sign that says "1800s horse thief".

There is a gazebo in the back yard and Sunday it was decorated with red, white and blue banners for Memorial Day. The gazebo can be seen through the windows of a room at the back of the house that Bond uses as a studio to paint.

"I just love old houses and I thought I'd just kind of show it off so people could see that you can take an old house and make it a home." Bond said about why she participated in the tour.

You don't have to buy a new house,"

To learn more about the tour visit https://mariettacastle.org/?event=historic-marietta-tour-of-homes-2024&event_date=2024-05-26.

Starting at /week.