Christmas Tour of Homes
The St. Mary Landmarks Christmas Tour of Homes is back this year to share the rich history of the City of Franklin while onlookers revel in the spirit of the season. Over the years, St. Mary Landmarks has organized various home tours where locals and visitors can glimpse into the classic antebellum-style abodes adorning the historic district. This year marks the third Christmas home tour, which helps raise money for the St. Mary Landmark Chapter of the Louisiana Landmark Society to help preserve historic buildings throughout the state.
Tour participants are immediately transported to the mid-nineteenth century as they walk along Main Street under ornamental lamp posts that have always shined a light upon the charming bayou town. Homeowners of the grand pre-Civil War dwellings will welcome history buffs, architecture enthusiasts and curious Christmas admirers into their quarters for a jaunt through the festively decorated rooms once occupied by the earliest settlers of sugarcane planters.
Dripped in fresh garland and twinkling cheery Christmas lights, patrons can wander among the magnificent manors, dipping into each one to learn their unique story. Guests will have the chance to peer behind the Corinthian columns, beyond the original neo-classically designed doors framed with multi-paneled lunettes, and into the meticulously preserved homes where past meets present.
Betty Veeder, current Treasurer and decade-long board member of St. Mary Landmarks, loves that the home tour brings patrons to the community. “We have had visitors from Lafayette, Baton Rouge and all surrounding areas come to the tour. It gives people a chance to see the inside of an antebellum home that they would not have had the opportunity to see otherwise.” Veeder also says, “It’s wonderful that visitors contribute financially to the community by dining out or getting gas while they are here. Once someone experiences our town, they come back.”
This year’s list includes Oaklawn Manor, the stately home of Mrs. Alice Foster, who is graciously opening the Greek Revival in tribute to her late husband, former Governor Murphy J. `Mike` Foster, Jr. The plantation home was built by Irish-born lawyer Alexander Porter in 1837 as a retirement retreat after he served on the Louisiana Supreme Court and US Senate. The home is located at a curve of the bayou, which gave this stretch of the Teche the name Irish Bend.
Records indicate that a sugar mill, sawmill, slave quarters, a church and other buildings were located on the plantation. Post Civil War, the home changed ownership numerous times and suffered an interior fire. The structure was restored in 1925, in the 60s, and then again in 1986 by the Fosters. Today the exquisite home is filled with American and European antiques, original Audubons and hand-carved game birds. The only original structures still in existence are the brick butter house and the separate kitchen.
Also on the tour is Bittersweet, built circa 1845 by the first mayor of Franklin, William Porter Allen. Another stop along the path is Shadowlawn Plantation, a Greek Revival that originally operated as part of a tavern. The Smardon House is a cottage-style house built around 1891, exquisitely furnished by present-day owners Dave and Mary Beth Berry. Another Main Street structure is the Palfrey House, featuring imposing fluted columns topped with intricate Temple of the Winds capitals.
Observers will have to venture a little further to see the Arlington Historic Home and Gardens, a magnificent corinthian columned mansion built in the 1830s by Honere’ Carlin, situated upon seven acres of lavishly landscaped English gardens, surrounded by Magnolias, 100-year-old Oak trees and ancient Cypress trees. Original porticos are supported by fluted Composite Order columns at the front and bayou side of the house, and smaller, identical entrances adorn the sides. Period antiques grace the home’s interior, lit by crystal and bronze chandeliers and encompassed by elegant millwork.
It is believed that the Yankees spared this mansion during the Civil War because the mistress of the house was a Yankee herself from Indiana. Over the years, this stately structure has served as a Civil War Infirmary, a local bar, and Arlington Country Club, among other venues. Today the picturesque landmark hosts weddings and parties.
Two churches that were added to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 80s will also be open from one pm until four to visit during the tour. The Church of the Assumption is a Basilica-plan Catholic church with gorgeous stained-glass windows. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, designed by New Orleans architect James Freret, is a mid-century Greek Revival church.