our community: CANDLELIGHT TOUR OF HOMES
The Candlelight Tour of Homes
Celebrates its 36 th Year by
Adding New Homes
By MELISSA MOORMAN
Photos by STEVE SCHILLIO
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hough holiday decorations have been up
since the day after Halloween, the real
start of the holiday season for many people in
Parker County is the annual Candlelight Tour
of Homes, sponsored by the Parker County
Heritage Society. The tour is celebrating its
36 th year in a big way with five homes that haven’t
been on the Candlelight Tour before, and a historic
Parker County log cabin. Guests even have a
chance to win a handmade quilt in a raffle that
will be announced on tour day. All in all, it’s a
great way to spend a Saturday in the midst of all
the holiday bustle.
This is Emily Prowell’s first time to chair the
Candlelight Tour, but she has been a volunteer
in the past. Last year she chaired the docent
committee. She’s been working hard over the
summer months getting the homes and home-
owners ready for tour day.
“I like asking volunteers to be docents and be
a part of the event. Everyone learns something
about Weatherford,” Prowell said. “I enjoyed
meeting the new homeowners who were excited
to live in Weatherford and in the historic area.
We have great volunteers who did deed research
on the homes back to their original owners and
ancestry research to find out who lived in the
home, what their occupation was, and other
details. I find the history part fascinating.
“I’m looking forward to a wonderful turnout
and the guests who come to the tour. Several of
them [the homes] have been updated for today’s
lifestyle while still holding on to their original
charm. I hope everyone enjoys seeing the homes
this year,” she continued.
Homeowner Jessica Eaves is new to
Weatherford, and to owning an older home. She
moved into her home in March and is enjoying
getting to know the city she now calls home.
“I love that it’s a small town but still very
personable,” said Eaves. “It’s got a lot of things
coming. All of our neighbors stop by and talk
to me and wave. I love to go downtown and
shop. I love that they are bringing the downtown
back. I’ve never lived in an older home. I had
heard some horror stories about fixing things. I
couldn’t afford Fort Worth for sure. My dad has
lived out here for 17 years. I ended up finding
this house. I loved it and they had already done
the whole inside of it. My house is smaller, only
1,455 square feet, and it’s very quaint. It is very
old, but it has been redone on the inside so it
has a new feel to it. It still reminds me of back in
the day. It has a lot of history to it.”
Eaves is looking forward to tour day, but what
she is looking forward to is seeing the other
houses on the tour. “I am excited to see the
inside of some of these other historical homes.
How they are decorated and did they keep [the]
period of the house. I’m really curious to see
how other people keep their historical homes,”
she said.
If you’ve never been on the Candlelight
Tour, it’s different from many tours of its kind
held throughout the Metroplex. The homeown-
ers supply information to the docents about the
home, its history and special furniture or acces-
sories that are on display. The tour can take all
day or just a couple of hours and is self-guided,
meaning you can visit the venues in whatever
order suits your fancy.
Here are the homes and venues you can see