Jefferson-Candles, Homes, and History

Jefferson, Tx, a small town in East Texas, is a historic inland river port which once served as a center of commerce offering direct access to New Orleans by river. You will notice a strong New Orleans influence on some of the architecture here. During the mid 1800's, this town was the second largest city in Texas.(Galveston was the largest.) Today, the town is filled with numerous bed and breakfasts, antiques, restaurants, museums,and a variety of tours.

Every Christmas for the last 25 years, four historic homes are awarded a place on the Christmas Candlelight Tour. They are decked out in live greenery and candles, while hosts and hostesses greet you at each home wearing period clothing, further enhancing the experience. For addditional interest, the homes represent a variety of architectural styles and time periods. Incidentally, some of the houses are bed and breakfast establishments, available for nightly stays.

The first house we visited, the Alley-Carlson House, one of the oldest surviving homes in Texas, was built in 1849 by Daniel Alley, a co-founder of Jefferson. This home retains many of its orignal furnishing.

From there we visited the Keasler-Blair Haus, a 1930's house that has been renovated to resemble a pre-civil war german immigrant home. The house was renovated and adorned to represent the heritage of German immigrants who arrived in Jefferson during the mid1800's. This was the most entertaining and enlightening home, as there were several people dressed and acting in character thoughout the house.

The third house we toured, the J.H. Benefield,Jr. House, is a victorian beauty built in the 1890's. The historical plaque on the home labels it as a Gay Ninety's home, as the original owners were known for entertaining.

Our last house, the largest on our tour, is a new Greek Revival home finished in 2001. The architecture and floor plan are in keeping with a mid 1800's plantation style, with authentic decor and period furnishings adorning the interior. The owner also has an extensive Gone With the Wind collection in a musueum next door, which is a tour all its own.

I recommend visiting here to anyone wanting a taste of the slower pace of the 19th century. You can stroll the historic streets while antique shopping and enjoying the historical architecture. The Christmas Candlelight tour of historic homes is a special treat as the homes are decked out in their Christmas finery.

Quick Tips:

For information on the Candlelight Tour of Homes go to www.historicjeffersonfoundation.com or call (903) 665-7064

The cost of the tour is . Children 10 and under are . You start the tour at any of the houses listed on the tour. When you buy the tickets, pick up a brochure with a map giving you the locations of each of the homes. Allow two hours for the entire tour.

For more information about Jefferson visit
www.jefferson-texas.com

Or you can call the Chamber of Commerce at 903-665-2672 or 888-GO RELAX.

For lodging information www.jeffersonreservationservice.com or call 877-6003-2535

The Candlelight Tour of Homes features different homes every year. If you missed the Christnas tour, there is another tour of homes available each year in May during the Jefferson Pilgrimage. In addition, some of the homes offer tours throughout the year, and many are bed and breakfasts, so you can spend the night or a weekend in one of your favorites.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need a car because Jefferson is a small town in a rural area and the historic homes in Jefferson are located throughout several blocks. If you plan to visit downtown Jefferson, you will want to park your car and walk to see the many antique, novelty, and clothing stores.

For an entertaining way to get around, take a horse and carriage tour of Jefferson, (www.jeffersoncarriage.com) located on the west end of Austin Street. Ride on a steam engine train at Jefferson Historic Railway (www.jeffersonrailway.com) locacted at 400 E. Austin Street on the east side of town. Or enjoy a relaxing river tour on a steamboat (www.caddolake.com/steamboat.html) or a covered tour boat(www.jeffersonbayoutours.com).

Scarlett O'Hardy's, a two story Greek Revival is the largest and newest home we visited on the annual Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes in Jefferson, Texas. The cost to tour four historic homes is $15 for adults and $2 children under 10. You can get to this house by turning right onto Main Street from Hwy 49(just past Brookshires Grocery) and travelling south 6 blocks. Finished in 2001, the home was built and designed in an 1800's antebellum style.

After entering the home through double front doors, you are greeted by the owner, Bobby Hardy. Just inside the double doors, you'll see a long hallway flanked on either side by a formal dining room and a formal parlor. As we entered the house, flowing from the parlor into the hall was the sound of beautiful harp music. We were surprised to find, instead of a CD playing, a very talented young harpist entertaining the guests.

The home features 1800's antiques and decor with a few sentimental and whimsical touches adding personality. Family photos in black and white adorn the hallway walls. Inside the formal dining room, a very unique chandelier made from elk and deer antlers adds a touch of informality. For the Christmas season, the centerpiece on the dining table is a hand carved, hand painted nativity set. And one of the less formal sitting rooms in the back features a coffee table that had a former life as a butcher block in Mrs Hardy's grandfathers grocery store.

We were told to take a look at the leather walls in the study, except they weren't leather. A leather look was created using paper sacks. It really looked like the real thing and added a touch of masculinity to the room. (I'd try to do that on one of my walls, but I'm afraid my attempt would probably look like I put paper sacks on my wall.)

My favorite room in the house was actully not inside the house. After meandering through the rooms we exited out the back door onto the ultimate back porch. This was a two story screened in porch with a an overlooking 2nd floor balcony and a large brick fireplace. I know I'd really enjoy a good book on that porch.

In addition to a place on this years Christmas tour, you can tour the house anytime with advance reservations. Or enjoy a night of luxury in one of the bedrooms(Scarlett O'Hardys is also a bed and breakfast.)

Next to the house is the reason for the name and style of the home. Bobby O'Hardy is an avid collector of Gone With The Wind memoralbia, so her property is also the home of Scarlet O'Hardy's Gone With The Wind Museum, which is open Thurs-Sat 10AM-5PM and Sun-Wed by appointment. Adult admission is $3. Child admission(12 and under) is $1.

For more information on tours or a bed-and-breakfast stay visit www.scarlettohardy.com or call 903-665-1939

We visited Keasler-Blair house during the annual Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes in Jefferson, Texas.(cost to tour four homes $15 adults; $2 children under 10) To get here turn right off Hwy 49 onto Main Street(next to Brookshires Grocery). Travel south 2 blocks, take a left, another two blocks and you're there. The home, built in the 1930's, has been renovated to resemble a pre-civil war German immigrant home, allowing a reflection on the lifestyle of German immigrants who settled in the area during the mid-1800's.

Upon arrival, we were greeted in front by a gentleman dressed in mid-1800's fashion. The least ornate home on the tour, Keasler-Blair is finished in painted rustic wood with no wallpaper as was the custom for a middle class home of the era. Throughout the house are rugs and tapestry handmade by the owner from fabric scraps. Also throughout are antique pieces of German and American furniture, a German clock, and other period artifacts.

Upon entering the home, we encountered a couple, dressed and acting in character as german immigrants, discussing their day. The Christmas tree, adorned with period decorations including popcorn strands, was a cedar tree commonly found in this area. I really liked that touch because of the authenticity. They were the same Christmas trees we had when I was a young girl.

In the gentlemans parlor, where the men could smoke and play cards, we found a man in character telling jokes and humorous stories from his life. This evoked the image of a group of men relaxing in a time before electronic entertainment.

Just beyond this room was the sewing room which housed the cloth used for the beautful handmade rugs and tapetsry. Old post office sorting boxes were recycled to hold the fabric scraps sorted by color. The rugs, beautiful works of art, were made using thread from the desired color of fabric.

Last on the tour was the kitchen with modern amenities but a style in keeping with the era. Here we encountered two women, also in character as german immigrants, cooking and baking for Christmas while chatting about the happenings in the community. Through them we discovered there were appoximately 25 German immigrant families in Jefferson during the mid 1800's.

This was my favorite of the four homes on the tour because it was a reminder of a simpler time in a common middle class home. It was also a nice touch to have people in character allowing us a glimpse at a living history.

If you get a chance, tour this home. Unfortunately, they don't have regularly scheduled tours, but you might get a chance on one of the historic home tours during Christmas or the Jefferson Pilgramage in May. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys history and antiques, especially at Christmas for a glimpse of Christmas in the past. For more information on historic tours in Jefferson, Tx visit on the web at www.jefferson-texas.com or contact by phone at 903-665-2672 or 888-GO RELAX.

The J.H. Benefield Sr. House, circa 1895, is a Recorded Texas HIstoric Landmark labelled as a gay nineties house because of the lavish parties thrown in the front parlor during the 1890's. A Victorian home with a Queen Anne influence, this home is known as a painted lady, a victorian home painted in three or more contrasting colors that bring out the decorative features. To me, the home looks somewhat like a gingerbread house, which was very appropriate for our Christmas visit.

We visited this home during the Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes in Jefferson, Texas. You can get to the house by turning right(south) from hwy 49 two blocks past Brookshires Grocery. Travel 8 blocks south and you are here. The cost of the tour is $15 Adults and $2 Children for this and three other homes featured on the tour. As we walked toward the home through a wrought iron gate we were greeted in front by a gentleman in turn of the century(1890-1900) attire. We entered through the ornate door where we were greeted by a lady also in period clothing. The house features original wallpaper that is in amazingly good condition, as well as the orignal drapes on the front parlor windows. There are stained glass windows throughout the home that are a major feature both inside and out. Also throughout the home are paintings that have been hanging here for a century. The back parlor, which is the gentlemens parlor, features a large mirror, an ornate fireplace, and a set of the stained glass windows. It has a less feminine feel than the rest of the house and I think this is my favorite room because it is very cozy and warm on a cold winter day. But the front parlor with its colorful wallpaper and very Victorian decor has an appeal of its own and with the windows open might be my favorite on a summer evening with a cool breeze blowing through.

We really enjoyed visiting this home. This is somewhere I would enjoy spending a night for a romantic evening. For a more intimate view of the home, you can stay a night in one of the bed and breakfast rooms. The Victorian atmosphere is very romantic and will make you feel as if you have stepped back in time. And for extra romance, I found out from their web site they are available for weddings.

You can check out their website at www.benefieldhouse.com or call them at 903-665-9366.

Find out more information about the Candlelight Tour of Homes at www.historicjeffersonfoundation.com or call at 903-665-7064.

Alley-Carlson House, the first of the four homes we toured on the annual Christmas Candlelight tour in Jefferson, Texas, was built in 1849 by Daniel Alley, one of Jeffersons founders.(tour cost $15 adults, $2 children under 10) One of the oldest surviving homes in Texas, this Greek Revival house is on the National Register of Historic Places, along with 16 other homes and buildings in Jeffeson.

The house was given to the builders son, Daniel Alley, jr., as a wedding gift. He and his wife spent their honeymoon in New Orleans where she bought furniture for the house, which was shipped by river to Jefferson. (During the 1800's, Jefferson served as a major inland river port with direct access to the shipyards in New Orleans. As a result, building styles here exhibit a strong New Orleans influence.) This furniture remains in the house today, and most pieces are sitting exactly where they were placed all those years ago. This is due to the fact that the home remained in the same family until 1991 when it was donated to the Jefferson Historical Society.

For the Christmas tour, the home is decked in live greenery and candles both inside and out as are all the homes on this tour. Once inside, to the left of the front entry is the parlor which holds the sofa and center table brought to the home from that trip to New Orleans. A fascinating feature in the room is a small door several feet off the floor. Since we were touring during the Christmas holidays, it was explained that this was Santa's access to the room.

Beyond the parlor is a bedroom with painted wood walls and an interesting piece of furniture. A display table is an original wooden crate used for shipping the newlyweds gifts and furniture by steamboat to Jefferson.

An intersting fact about the kitchen in this home is that it isn't original to the home. When the home was built, it was common to have a separate building used for the kitchen because kitchens posed the highest risk of fires. The food was brought to the home through a backdoor leading to a serving room. That room was later converted to the kitchen.

I would recommend touring this home and others in Jefferson to anyone interested in history, especially american archetectural styles. For a special treat, I definitely recommend seeing these homes all decked out for the Christmas holidays. In 2006, the home was purchased by a couple who are in the process of rennovations. Currently their are no regularly scheduled tours for the Alley-Carlson House, but the town of Jefferson has two events each year that offer tours of the towns historic homes. In addition to the Christmas Candlelight tour, another historic home tour occurs each May during the Jefferson Pilgrimage. For more information on historic tours in Jefferson, Tx visit on the web at www.jefferson-texas.com or contact by phone at 903-665-2672 or 888-GO RELAX.