The Athens Ladies Civitan Club will host the 2023 Bells of Christmas Holiday Home Tour in Athens on Sunday, Dec. 10, from 1-5 p.m. This will be the 11th year for the tour.

Proceeds from this annual fundraiser benefits programs for Limestone County children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

This year’s tour will feature three centuries of homes built in the 1800s, 1900s and 2000s — five distinctive homes ranging from an 1827 Federal Greek Revival home, a Queen Anne style modified in downtown Athens to Traditional Southern architecture east of Athens. Each home will be dressed in its festive holiday attire.

Members of Athens Ladies Civitan Club and Athens Limestone Junior Civitan Club will serve as hostesses at each house to direct guests and to answer questions. Finger foods will be available at a designated house.

Door prizes

Guests who have their tickets stamped at all five locations and turn them in at their last home will be entered into a drawing for door prizes. The winners will be notified by phone.

The homes

House locations

The Ladd & Prater Homes are two historical homes located in downtown Athens. The other three houses are located east of Athens and north of Hwy 72. Please look for “Holiday Home Tour” signs along the way and at each location.

The Ladd house{span class=”print_trim”}

501 N JEFFERSON STREET

HOME OF MICHAEL AND VICKI LADD

Driving directions: From Hwy 72, head North on Jefferson Street, house is on the left (northwest corner of Jefferson St. and 1st Ave.)

The Ladd home is a lovely Queen Anne style modified with a hipped roof and gable spires. Charles Sarver (the first owner of the house) contracted W. B. Norwood to build this beautiful home that is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The original architectural integrity of this classic 4,000 square foot home has been kept while making it an inviting home in which to live and entertain.

The Ladd’s have always loved looking at historic homes and purchased this beauty five years ago after seeing it online, viewing it and falling in love with it.

The Sarver’s and the Ladd’s were not the only owners. Dr. Powers, a local physician, owned the house for 39 years after the Sarver’s and Lawson and Penna Lee owned it for over 30 years.

The Ladd’s moved to Alabama from Oklahoma and said that although they have enjoyed Christmas in many states Athens is a special place to celebrate their old-fashioned Christmas.

All 10 rooms of this beautiful two-story home will be open for viewing. The main floor hosts a family room, parlor, butler’s pantry, kitchen, dining room and master suite. Upstairs hosts two bedrooms and a bonus room complete with a pool table. Other unique features of this home are a small apartment for guests, in-ground pool, and pool house and outdoor kitchen.

The Prater house{span class=”print_trim”}

401 SOUTH CLINTON STREET

HOME OF ERIC AND LAURA LEIGH LAXSON PRATER

Driving directions: From (Ladd House), turn right on Jefferson Street, turn left onto Hobbs Street follow to Clinton Street, turn right, house is on the left (southeast corner of Clinton and South St.)

The Prater home is a beautiful Federal Greek Revival style that has been added onto through the years. Mr. William Richardson had it built beginning in 1827 for his bride, Anne Davis, daughter of the War of 1812 Captain Nick Davis, who is said to have died in the house.

Eric and Laura Leigh were wanting to sell their previous home on Yorkshire in Athens to build a new home when they saw this antebellum beauty was for sale, and she fell in love with the house. With the help of Laura Leigh’s father, Guinn Laxon (a home builder), Tony Anderson and Jimmy Moss working to transform this empty slate of walls into this beautiful home, after a year and a half the family was ready to move in.

This home was said to have been used as a hospital during the U.S. Civil War, and there are still blood stains on the wood floor. Civil War artifacts were also dug up in the basement.

The house boasts 5,700 square feet, including a basement and unattached studio with a bomb shelter built during the Cold War.

Laura Leigh said she loves color, so she tries to use colors such as blues and greens that come from her Oriental and Persian rugs. She likes traditional styles, meaning she likes a touch of new with the old. She collects antiques but likes to add new pieces here and there.

Upstairs hosts a reading room, a laundry room, a playroom/media room, and three-bedroom suites. But these are not quite ready for showing, so they will not be a part of the tour.

Downstairs hosts a beautiful family room, dining room and kitchen all with beautiful brick walls and original wood floors (except the kitchen). Downstairs you will also find the master suite with an attached laundry and closet (not on tour), a vestibule with a powder room, and another powder room attached to the kitchen hall. The butler’s pantry is unfinished but has served great already for entertaining. There is also another laundry room attached to the kitchen hall but is used as a walk-in small kitchen appliance panty.

The downstairs of this home will be open for the tour, excluding walking into the master bedroom.

The Box house{span class=”print_trim”}

202 WELLINGTON ROAD

HOME OF DANNY AND MARY BOX

Driving directions: From Hwy 72, head North on Lindsay Lane, turn left onto Wellingotn Road, house is on the right.

The Box home is a beautiful 3,000 square foot Dutch Revival built in 1975. It is the former Blizzard house. It has instant curb appeal with its beautiful front lawn that just said, “come on in and visit for a while.”

Mary and Danny are originally from the Shoals area. They opened a store in Athens called the Willow Cottage Antiques. Mary and Danny said they found the people of Athens to be genuine and so friendly that they decided to move to Athens four years ago.

Traditional décor mixed with antiques will fill the rooms. Visitors will be greeted at the entry way by a stunning staircase that is covered in beautiful garland and sparkling lights (the upstairs will not be open for the tour). Trees will be decorated with antique and vintage ornaments.

The main level hosts a family room, den, kitchen, dining room and master suite furnished in stunning antiques and vintage pieces all of which tell a story of times past and hopes for the future.

Visitors are sure to catch the Christmas Spirit while walking through this Christmas time capsule with so many Christmas ornaments.

The Gray house{span class=”print_trim”}

24696 DEER RIDGE LANE

HOME OF PATRICK AND JANA GRAY

Driving directions: From Hwy 72, head North on Lindsay Lane, at the roundabout take the 1st exit onto Nick Davis Road, turn left onto Forest Hills Dr, left onto Deer Ridge Lane, house is in the cul-de-sac.

The Gray home is a lovely Traditional Southern Architecture built by Winter Homes hosting 4,000 square feet and built in 2017. The Grays spent two years drawing the house plan on graph paper before taking them to an architect (these sketches are framed and hang on the wall downstairs). The house sits on two acres of wooded land with a creek flowing through it so they wanted to ensure that they could view this majestic scenery from every room in the house.

The Grays knew they wanted a completely open floor plan for the living/kitchen space and a master suite customized with antiques. Jana loves the cozy feel of a stone rock fireplace and cedar beams trimming the living space. The master “retreat” features sliding antique Egyptian doors that open into the master bath complete with an antique buffet that serves as a double vanity. There is a walkout basement with mostly large windows. The interior walls are wrapped in 100-year-old barn wood.

Jana was raised in Florence and Patrick in Gadsden. Jana attended Athens State University and fell in love with the people and the community. After graduation she moved to Harvest and worked in Huntsville where she met Patrick. Since both of them were from small towns, they knew that Athens was where they wanted to put down roots.

Jana said her love language is Christmas and she is often called the “Crazy Christmas Lady,” so Christmas is certainly alive and well in the main level and the basement of this fabulous home.

The Wood house{span class=”print_trim”}

18599 MOORESVILLE ROAD

HOME OF ANDY AND HOLLY WOOD

Driving directions: From Forest Hills Subdivision, turn left onto Nick Davis Road, turn left onto Mooresville Road at the 4-Way stop, house is on the left.

The Wood home is truly a family affair, as Holly’s parents Mark and Roslyn Pressnell, were the builders (Pressnell Enterprises, LLC.). Andy’s parents contributed to this labor of love by allowing the family to live with them while their home was constructed.

Andy and Holly both were born and raised in Athens/Limestone County. Upon graduation, Andy and Holly took different paths. He entered the United States Marine Corps and served three tours in Iraq (thank you for your service). Holly left Athens for Auburn. Andy was stationed in the San Diego area while stateside, and Holly quickly fell in love with the area and with Andy. When he separated from active duty, Andy’s dream was to return home to Athens, so the family settled back in their hometown.

The exterior of this home looks cozy and cottage-esque from the outside and blends into the farm aesthetic situated on three and a half acres. However, you will get a hint of the people who live inside when you see the little flamingos that welcome visitors. Once you open the front door Holly said you realize “you are not in Kansas anymore.” The hot pink dining room, chartreuse velvet curtains accented with coordinating leopard trim and black trim work are your introduction to the Hollywood Regency style that Holly embraces. Holly loves a bold Chinoiserie look with black lacquer and bold colors. Black and sparkle are her favorite colors.

The home has an open floor plan, which is needed because of Holly’s love of cooking. She said it’s therapy and her happy place. She and Andy love to host their families and eat together, they say their home is built to live in and find comfort. Holly said that it was very important that all the people have their own bathrooms, after having to share a bathroom with her brother while growing up.

Holly said that Christmas is a time of music and togetherness for their family, and they invite visitors to come and enjoy the sound and sparkles of the season as they open their home to the community as Holly said, “You never know what you will find at Holly Wood’s.”

Ticket information

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door and can be purchased at any house. Advance tickets are available for purchase at Pimentos, Willow Cottage Antiques, Kathleen’s Korner Salon, Bean Beans Boutique and from Athens Ladies Civitan members. For more information, call Carolyn Stair at (256) 658-1985 or Dianne Newby at (256) 777-2155.