The Mentone Area Arts Council presents its eighth annual Home Tour and Silent Auction Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25. This year’s tour showcases 10 properties in the Mentone, Ala., and Cloudland, Ga., areas of Lookout Mountain. Tour hours are Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CST and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. CST (unless otherwise noted).
Five homes, a historic church, a Girl Scout camp, a farm, lodge, and a bed and breakfast will be featured on the tour which begins at the Mentone City Hall. The homes are not normally open for public viewing except when a select number open their doors during the annual Tour of Homes. Authentic, rustic and renovated homes will be on the tour this year and visitors will be greeted by homeowners or guides who will elaborate on the history of each home.
Tall Meadow Rue
The whimsical English style cottage, designed by Tony Shrader with Custom Home Designs located in Mentone, Ala., features native mountain stone complimented with handmade brick accents, quaint antique English chimney pots and stained and leaded glass windows created by Chuck Peters, a local glass artist.
Saint Joseph’s On The Mountain Episcopal Church
In 1965, the Rev. John Franklin Machen, a retired Episcopal priest, established a small chapel and held daily services in the log cabin, around which St. Joseph’s has grown. The log cabin was the home of the Simmie Sherman Vernon family and originally included a sleeping loft and a small lean-to kitchen. It was built in 1870 on the adjoining property and was moved to the present site in the 1880s where it served as a residential dwelling for several families over the years. The small, unique church served its rapidly growing congregation until 1974 when construction began to build around the historic log cabin. Much of the work was done by volunteers and without financial help from the Diocese. Construction materials included wood from old barns and buildings from the surrounding area, many of which were of the same vintage as the log cabin. (St. Joseph's will be open for the tour on Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., but because of worship service on Sunday, tours will be available only from 1-4 p.m.)
Camp Juliette Low
Camp Juliette Low is an historic Girl Scouts Camp located in Cloudland. The camp was founded in 1922 on 10 acres donated to Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, by John and Will Ledbetter, developers of the Cloudland Park Club. She supervised the construction of the Lodge for the first summer of camping. Camp Juliette Low has been in operation for 93 years and currently sits on 340 acres bisected by the East Fork of the Little River. The Lodge and original 10 acres were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Other properties on the tour include the John Miller home in the North Bend Subdivision, the 1910 Biddle Farm (Barr Farm and Dairy), Nippersink Lodge, Kay Huggins' brow home in Mountain River Estates, Mountain Grove B&B in Cloudland, Kathy Casler's Walnut Cottage, and the Tiny Homes at Little River Escape.
A silent auction, open to the public, will be held in conjunction with the Tour of Homes at Mentone City Hall where visitors can bid on original works of art including paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, native plants, antiques, camp sessions, weekend getaways, and gift certificates to Mentone restaurants and shops. The auction ends at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 25. For more information on the silent auction, contact Rhea Pirch at 256.634-0108 or rheadrp@gmail.com.
Tickets good for both days may be purchased at Mentone City Hall, 5972 Highway 117 in downtown Mentone, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CST, and Sunday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. CST. Cost is $10 per person. Brochures containing directions and information on each tour location are also available at the Mentone City Hall.
For more information, contact Kaye Kiker at 205.609-8100 or send inquiries to mentoneinn@gmail.com or visit www.mentonearts.org.