After over 30 years, management of the Wake Forest Historic Home Tour is transitioning from the Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) back to the Wake Forest Woman’s Club.
The Woman’s Club introduced the Historic Home Tour in the 1980s and later partnered with the HPC to co-host the event. In the decades that followed, the holiday tour has become a beloved community event offered every other year.
All was well until 2020 when the tour was canceled due to COVID. According to Senior Planner for Historic Preservation Michelle Michael, the pandemic ushered in a new era for the event marked by a drastic decline in the number of property owners willing to showcase their homes.
“COVID changed the way the community interacts in many ways but especially when it comes to people opening their private homes to the public,” said Michael. “People simply aren’t as open to inviting 2,000 people into their homes as they were before the pandemic.”
As a result, 2024 will serve as a transition year for the Historic Home Tour. This year, the Woman’s Club will offer tours of two homes in the Wake Forest National Register Historic District on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. – rain or shine. As part of the event, the Wake Forest Historical Museum and the HPC will host an Open House at the Historical Museum, 414 N. Main St., featuring tours of the Calvin Jones House and a Woman’s Club bake and craft sale. Parking will be available at the Historical Museum and along area side streets.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Wake Forest Woman’s Club will begin selling 500 tickets to this year’s Historic Home Tour. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/WFHistoricHomeTour or email Michelle Michael at mmichael@wakeforestnc.gov.
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