Monday, September 15, 2014

Historic Homes Tour in Louisiana, Mo.

Hello everyone and happy almost Fall. It has been beautiful weather here. Let the Home Tours and Festivals begin!.
This weekend my mom and I went on a Homes Tour in historic Louisiana, Missouri. It is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River south of Hannibal. Below is a mural of just a very few of the wonderful Victorian homes that grace this quaint little town.


We went in to 6 homes and yes you could take pictures but unfortunately I was not inspired to do so because the interiors were not period furnishings like I love. So I will show you pictures of the outside of the houses but I have to admit I got a little carried away and took so many pictures of houses not on the tour that I may not remember which one's we did tour. I know, silly me.
The first place we went was this cute little church, we were told the church was founded in 1856 original location just a few blocks away and was moved to its current site in 1879 by rolling it on logs!


Here is an inside shot...


and another. 


And oooh, just look at this house! 


Such potential, and it's even for sale! Needless to say, it was not on the tour. 


And neither was this one, but I loved it, check out the turreted open porch


and all the details in the gable and above the window. Just needs a little TLC.


Okay, now here is one we did go into. It dates back to shortly after the Civil War. 


Love the bay window in the photo below and if you look closely you'll see my mom walking up to the front door probably wishing I would hurry up and join her. :-)


The home had the two front porches, one on both sides of the bay window. The below porch is the one from the above photo with my mom.


An inside view of the bay window, a little dark though, sorry.


They did not have antique furnishings so I didn't take any more pictures of the inside, but I did take the below picture as we were leaving. I liked the look of the green fern in contrast to the beautiful white columns and look at the painted blue porch ceiling.


Here's a shot of the same house from across the street.


Below is a shot of two side by side houses with great little 2nd story porches...


Just love all those galley rails and the cute white picket fence!
These two homes were not on the tour either.


Nor was this one.


BUT, this one was!!!! And let me tell you, it was LOVE at first sight!


It is Eastlake style and I believe was built in the 1870's. It was the home of Governor Stark and is referred to as one of the grand "Dames" of Victorian homes in Louisiana. You may have heard or seen a Stark Nursery Order catalog. They sell fruit trees and bushes. Well this is the family who founded that business all those years ago and the business is still up and running. And Governor Stark was very nearly the President of the United States. (Be sure to notice the OTHER Stark mansion at the bottom of this post!)


Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go in!


Meet our tour guide. Just kidding, I guess they are getting ready for Halloween?


The home boasts several of its original transoms and stain glass windows.


Here is an outside shot of that same window but on the other side of the house. Just look at all the detail on the house. Just gorgeous!


On the way down the street to the last house tour we spied this beauty! 


And this one.


This is the last house we toured. It was built in 1875 and had 10 ft. ceilings and a pretty walnut staircase. Sorry no interior photos.


We had to make an out of the way trip to see the below gorgeous Civil War Era Plantation home and it and its 86 acres are for sale at the hefty price of $1,200,000.
It is another Stark mansion from the same family as that Eastlake home I showed you earlier in this post.


Below is what the realtor's website said about the home.
This is a rare opportunity to purchase one of the most fabulous Civil War era plantation homes in Missouri’s Little Dixie. The Stark Mansion was built in 1869 by the Stark family who introduced many of today’s popular apples like- Golden Delicious. The family also made a fortune in the lumber business. Situated on 86 acres in the rolling hills of Pike County. The mansion has been completely restored and renovated with a meticulous eye for detail. New hardwood floors throughout. Seven gas fireplaces. 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Gorgeous front staircase. Two front parlors with custom European chandeliers. Formal dining room featuring a punka fan from Natchez- one of the only two in the State of Missouri. The property features a brick barn and 2 car garage. New, geo-thermal systems make this showplace economical to heat and cool. The property features a lake, cropland, springs and a creek. Located 1.5 hours north of St. Louis. The sale includes most of the fine contents of this mansion- antique furniture, china, glassware, collectibles and more.

Below is the brick barn that is included in the sale.


Well that is it for my Historic homes tour. I hope you enjoyed what you saw and thank you so much for visiting!