The Mount Airy Restoration Foundation is committed to the preservation of local historic buildings and maintaining the William Alfred Moore House.  The Foundation will host the thirty-sixth annual Holiday House Tour on Saturday, December 7th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Sunday, December 8th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Tour is a self-guided tour of the William Alfred Moore house and 8 additional locations. This annual event is the main fundraiser for the Foundation.  Beginning the week of November 11th, tickets will be available at the Visitors Center in historic downtown Mount Airy, NC.

The Moore House is available for event rentals through December 21st.  Numerous small groups have already scheduled their Christmas get-togethers and office parties.  For those interested in joining the Foundation or hosting a gathering during the holidays, please contact the Foundation at themoorehousemtairy@gmail.com or 336.325.8248.​

The William Alfred Moore House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was purchased in October, 1992 by the Mount Airy Restoration Foundation.  
The Moore House, built c. 1860, is the oldest known remaining residential building within the city of Mount Airy. The house exhibits a combination of Victorian and Italianate stylistic features and on the interior, Greek Revival features.  The Moore House sits on a little more than 4 acres of wooded and landscaped land, adjacent to downtown Mount Airy.   Located in the front lawn of the Moore House is an outstanding circa 1865 rustic hexagonal summer house, with arched door and window openings  constructed with wood poles and intervening laurel root walls, and a shingle roof.  The furniture inside the summer house includes a settee, chair, and table with laurel root base and plank top.  This structure is one of only 2 such laurel root structures in the U.S. 
The three local garden clubs, Garden Gate, Modern Gardeners, and Mountain View, design and create decorations for the house and grounds of the William Alfred Moore House around a common theme.  This year the theme is “An Antebellum Christmas at the Moore House.”    The clubs use a mixture of live and artificial greenery and locally sourced products to decorate the home in period appropriate decorations.  It’s important to note that the decorations created are meant to be something that any visitor could view and then take the idea to their own home and recreate. “The Tour wouldn’t be as successful or as meaningful, if it weren’t for the three  garden clubs! The creativity and beauty that the garden clubs provide is invaluable. The gardeners beautify the Moore House for this fundraiser, which helps the Moore House and our community.  For many people, this Tour is a tradition that jumpstarts the Christmas Season”, stated Brian McPeak, President of the Foundation.

 

The Gertrude Smith House, located at 708 North Main Street, adjacent to the historic downtown, is on the tour each year as well.  This home was built in 1908 and is also on the National Register of Historical Homes.  This Victorian-Colonial Revival home contains period antique furnishings and artwork. The house is operated by the Gilmer-Smith Foundation. The staff at Gilmer-Smith, while staying true to the wishes of benefactor Gertrude Smith, surprises and delights guests with their decorations.  This 2 store home is an architectural treasure, featuring furniture and artwork collected from around the world during Gertrude’s career.  Whether showcasing a collection of teacups or nutcrackers, the decorations are always aspirational and entertaining. 

The Edwards Franklin House, located at 4132 Haystack Rd. was built in 1799 by Gideon Edwards and was later occupied by congressional representative Meshack Franklin, brother of North Carolina governor Jesse Franklin.  The Surry County Historical Society purchased the house in 1973 and performed extensive renovations.  The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Homes that same year.  This home is well known for its inclusion in Sonker Festival held in Surry County each summer. The festival, held the first Saturday in October, features live music and great flavors of sonker on the grounds of the home. For the Holiday House Tour, this historic house will be decorated to reflect the era of the house.   The Historic Society uses antiques, live greenery, homemade ornaments and candles to decorate the home.  There will be volunteers onsite to provide the history of the home to visitors.

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Grace Moravian Church, 1401 North Main Street – This beautiful church is a part of the Taylor Park Historic district. The church was built between 1925 and 1926. Relying on the local materials, the Grace congregation built the with Mount Airy Granite.  Over the years as the congregation grew so did the church. A new Sunday school building was built in 1955, and again in 1967 a second Christian education wing with fellowship hall was added — all in granite. 
The church will be decorated with greenery, Moravian stars, poinsettias and numerous handmade and historically significant ornaments.  We encourage everyone to take a moment to savor the experience of visiting this architectural treasure, to hear more of the history of this iconic building and the contributions this church has made to our community,  and also to reflect on the customs of the Moravian congregation.
Grace Moravian Church will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025.  Numerous activities and services are planned, with participation in the Holiday House Tour being one of the first activities.  For the congregation’s 50th anniversary in 1975 each member received a small slab of granite from Mount Airy’s quarry.  Much is in store for this 100th anniversary. 
For more information about the services and history of Grace Moravian Church, follow them on Facebook or online at gracemoravianchurch.org.

615 North Main Street - The local community of Mount Airy is grateful for the thoughtful preservation of the former “Blue House” on Main St.  The Blue House was always closely tied to the downtown and in its previous life had at times been a dental office, residential apartments, an art gallery, and even part of the Visitors Center.  When the present homeowners had the opportunity to return to his hometown of Mount Airy, saving this iconic home on Main Street seemed the right thing to do.  The original plan was to remove only the extraneous walls that had been added during former renovations and return the house to its original footprint.  This proved problematic due to the deterioration of other walls, and that it was sometimes difficult to determine what was truly original and what was added later.  
Researching the home for its original footprint and key features of the home was made easier by notes at the library and from local historical groups, and especially with help from neighbors who had similar features in their homes which were built in a similar era.   All this research enabled the homeowners to restore the house and add modern necessities but while still respecting the look of the original home. Between the research and the reconstruction work, this total-house renovation took over 2 years from start to finish. The renovation became a piece-by-piece demolition with careful notes on what was saved and where in the house it came from. All foundational materials were reinforced or replaced as needed.  For features that couldn’t be saved, they were replaced with ‘in kind’ materials so that the look and feel of the home does respect the original plans. 
The homeowners enjoy relaxing on their front porch and talking with neighbors and the many people strolling in the downtown area.  They wanted to give back to the community and one such way was to participate in the Holiday House Tour, and thus share their home with others.  They’ve heard so many stories of how others connect to the house (I was married in the gazebo in the back yard, I took art classes here, I came to listen to music in the summers here….the list goes on and on) that this Tour seemed a nice way to share the home.  For the Holiday House Tour, the home will be decorated as they normally decorate for this family’s Christmas – a simple, thoughtful, family-friendly home. 

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625 North Main Street – This house was built in the early 1900’s and has been known as the Harry Galloway home, or the Lovill house.  This Colonial Revival home originally featured hip rooflines and dormers and wrap-around porches.  The present homeowners moved to Mount Airy in June 2022 and loved the charm of Main Street and the idea of being able to walk to the downtown area to enjoy the many shops and restaurants downtown.  They researched the home before they renovated and found neighbors suggestions and the book Simple Treasures The Architectural  History of Surry County (book available at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History) to be invaluable sources of information and ideas. 

This home is an architectural treasure because so much of the home retains original features. The home features 11-foot ceilings and a curved stairwell.  Much of the original woodwork features such as window casings, hardwood floors and crown molding are still in the home.  Numerous original fireplace mantels remain in the home, although the fireplaces aren’t used at the present time. The home has stained-glass features in the dining room and front door.   The front porch remains true to the original home. 
The renovated kitchen and recently painted hallways were in great shape when the Griffins bought the house.  While HVAC systems were modernized, the original radiators are still in the home and do function.  The wrap-around porches still exist, with slight modifications that had been made previously and Kendra now uses an enclosed area on one side porch as her plant room.  
The homeowners will decorate the home with a half dozen trees, and the 1901 piano will be center stage.  The home will have snow villages on display and other collections and family favorites.  This home too will be decorated just like they decorate for themselves and their families – and this year, sharing their home with the community who has admired this house from the front sidewalk for the past years. 

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116 Yukon Trail - This is a wonderful new but old log cabin.  Married for 42 years with 3 adult children and 6 grandkids, the homeowners took the plunge and built the cabin.  They had wanted to build something near their primary home for years.  They wanted a separate place to relax and entertain, and also a place for family to come and visit and possibly stay overnight.  They had a spot in mind that had breathtaking views.   In speaking with local builders, Lee and Judy Mills, the plans came together quickly and the cabin was completed between October 2022 and March 2023.  A lot of preliminary work went into the planning, but once the details were in place, the construction went quickly to ensure the logs and craftsmanship were in the best shape possible. 
This is a new building, but built with 100-year old logs and some old construction techniques. Cut logs were used for the trims along windows and doors and as accents when appropriate.  This cabin features a rock fireplace with hand chiseled stonework on the foundation.  The header for the chimney is one large, impressive stone that took quite some time to locate and obtain.  Hardwood floors and antique barn doors are used throughout the cabin.  The character is historic, yet there are appropriate new conveniences throughout the cabin.  The kitchen features granite countertops, yet they look old and blend in with the log cabin look and feel.  The front and side doors were designed and custom made for the cabin. Antique furnishings are found throughout the cabin.  There’s a doorknob from the Old Beulah School in the cabin, a nod to their school days.   Furniture from parents and grandparents have been repurposed and used throughout the cabin. 
The cabin will be simply decorated, as appropriate for this cabin, using some live goods and antiques as well.  We are so appreciative of these homeowners for sharing this cabin on this year’s Holiday House Tour. 

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400 West Pine Street - The James A. Hadley house located at 400 West Pine Street in Mount Airy, NC was built from 1894 to 1900.  It is located within the Mount Airy Historic District.  The house is over 4500 square feet and has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 staircases.  It also features an abundance of stained-glass windows, marble columns, wainscoting, vintage light fixtures, stained glass transom windows, servants’ quarters, wrap around porch and was the first house to use local Mount Airy granite.  Most of the stained-glass windows are original. However, four windows were stolen in the 1980’s during the time the house was a boarding house.  Renowned local stained glass artist Ed Atkins of Russell Stained Glass Studio crafted replacements.  The home retains many original features and is one of the finest examples of Queen Anne Style architecture in the United States.  

In September of 2023 the present homeowners purchased the home.  Last year, this home at 400 West Pine St was on the Tour, and is featured again this year as the homeowners  continued with planned renovations. They are excited to host the Hadley House once again.  This iconic home is an architectural dream and gives guests a chance to step back into the grandeur of Victorian times.  

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424 Spring Street - This is a beautiful granite home built in 1938 on a corner lot in a key residential area of downtown Mount Airy. While not in the Mount Airy Historic district, this neighborhood is adjacent to the district.  This home features wide double gables with accented timbers.  The large front porch features craftsman columns with an asymmetrical layout. Overhead along the front of the home are dormer windows appropriately spaced between the gables. The home features craftsman style details on the interior, with some previously renovated rooms having a more modern appearance. This cute home is full of ideas for anyone looking to restore or renovate a home.

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Owners Shawna and James Lambert will have the house decorated with traditional decorations and look forward to opening this home for the Holiday tour.

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