Chapel Hill – Homeowners in Chapel Hill are opening the doors to their historical homes for anyone who wants to see them, to help raise money for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill.

It’s a Chapel Hill holiday tradition that is decades old. The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill will host their Holiday House Tour Saturday December 14 through Sunday December 15.

Evan Rodewald and Sharon Hodge are coordinating the event, and they say they hope to see you there.

“The Holiday House Tour is the single largest fundraiser for preservation work in Chapel Hill,” says Rodewald, “It also provides people in the community with a way to see and experience the historic homes and neighborhoods we work to protect.”

This year they’re showing off the historic homes in the Laurel Hill neighborhood off of Country Club Road.

“It’s bordered by stone walls, and it follows the natural landscape consistent with the City Beautiful movement, and urban design,” says Rodewald.

Hodge says there are homes of all ages to view on the tour, built from the 1920s through the 1980s. She says homeowners this year are letting you see more than usual.

This year homeowners have been incredibly generous,” says Hodge, “In a lot of previous years you couldn’t see everything. This year people have opened up pretty much all the floors.”

One of the homes Hodge says she is excited about was owned by former US senator John Edwards’ late wife.

“One of the highlights of the tour this year is going to be 303 Laurel Hill Road, which Jennifer and Don Holzworth purchased from the estate of Elizabeth Edwards,” says Hodge, “They’ve done an amazing renovation.”

The new owners have added 4,000 square feet to the home, geothermal heating and cooling, and a spiral staircase. You can see it all next weekend, while helping your local preservation society.

“Our Mission is to preserve the historic structures, and the cultural landscapes of Chapel Hill,” says Rodewald.

For more information, and purchase ticket click here.

 

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