Some of the most beautiful homes in Maryland are in Carroll County, and on Sunday you will have a chance to see a dozen of Northwest Carroll's prettiest properties.
Beginning at midday, you can join the Annual Soroptimist House Tour, a driving tour of six homes in the countryside, or the Historic Uniontown Tour, a walking tour through a historic district of old homes decorated for the holidays. If you're really energetic, you can visit all of the homes before both tours end at 5 pm.
In Uniontown, six private homes, two churches, an old schoolhouse and a bank will be open to the public. Horse and carriages will provide transportation through the town, and refreshments will be offered in an old wheelwright's shop -- all included in the ticket price.
This tour is a real community effort, with townspeople sponsoring the event, providing home baked cookies, decorating the homes with the help of the Carroll Garden Club, guiding visitors to parking spaces and printing and selling the tickets. Proceeds from the $10 admission benefit Historic Uniontown, Inc.
Among the beautifully renovated or restored homes on the tour is the one owned by Susan and David Petrie. In less than three years of ownership, the Petries have gutted the downstairs of their 18th century home, exposed original log walls and hard pine floors, replaced the kitchen, stairwell and fireplace fronts, and painted it all.
Williamsburg enthusiasts will enjoy the Colonial touches, such as the historic Williamsburg colors and antiques that the Petries have acquired from parents or collected on jaunts to flea markets and antiques shops.
Mr. Petrie, an exercise physiologist, has long been an amateur carpenter and handyman. He and Mrs. Petrie, a registered nurse and an antiques dealer, renovated a Baltimore home before moving to Uniontown for an encore renovation.
The result of their hard work is a beautiful, livable residence, filled with light and lace. Personal touches abound, such as the paintings done by Mr. Petrie's father, Ferdinand Petrie (an artist whose work is in the White House), Mrs. Petrie's handmade curtains, and handicrafts done by Carroll County artisans.
Five other residences are on the Uniontown tour and showcase similar restoration efforts and the joy of home ownership, including an old farmhouse Victorian with grain-painted interior trim to a "country Gothic" cottage furnished with and yard sale finds.
Other happenings in Uniontown on tour day include a juried show and sale of locally handcrafted items in Betty Smith's home at 3336 Uniontown Road), a light lunch and greens sale at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and a cookbook sale at the United Methodist Church.
Tickets can be purchased at designated sites on Sunday; hours are noon until 5 p.m. Information: 848-5692.
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Walk into Wood's Gain, a bed and breakfast and private home in the village of Linwood, owned by Beverly and Steve Kerkam, and be prepared to feel your heart skip a beat.
The Kerkams' home is a solid 19th century brick residence and it's restored to perfection. The proportions of the rooms, the family antiques, the colors and fabrics, and the personal warmth of the owners make this a home worth visiting.
It's also the hospitality stop on the Soroptimist tour, an appropriate role for Carroll County's newest bed and breakfast establishment.
The uniqueness of Wood's Gain is the way it combines a private residence with a public inn -- guest rooms are on one side of the structure, the Kerkams' home is on the other, and the dining room is common to both.
It's the "B and B" section that's featured on the tour and visitors won't be disappointed. They'll see heirloom antiques passed down to Mr. Kerkam by his grandparents or acquired on trips to local auctions; bed skirts and curtains made by Mrs. Kerkam; an old oak bureau used as a sink; secret passages believed to be part of the historic underground railroad; an antique bed that has traveled back and forth across the country in a covered wagon, )) train, and airplane; and a guest suite that is accessible to the physically handicapped.
The Kerkams have wanted to own and operate a bed and breakfast since the early 1980s, when they traveled in the British Isles, staying at private homes. With the opening of Wood's Gain, their dream is coming true.
Five other homes are featured on the Soroptimist tour, including the Sparks residence on Sams Creek Road in New Windsor.
This home also reflects a deep sense of Carroll County history. The 10-room home, built in three sections since the late 1700s, was once called Casper's Loss because the original owner, Casper Devilbiss, was a gambler and the house has appeared on various deeds around the county. Descendants of Casper Devilbiss will serve as hosts Sunday.
Other tour stops include Whitehall in New Windsor, the Grillon residence outside Taneytown, the Crum residence on Liberty Street in Westminster and Bowling Brook County Inn in Middleburg.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at any home on the tour, or at The Hickory Stick and Forget Me Not shops in Westminster. Proceeds benefit a nursing scholarship sponsored by Soroptimist International of Westminster.
Tour hours are 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Information: 775-2393.