301 East Market St.
Residence of Steve and Claudia Sload
This mid-century, three-story, Victorian Italianate home with Savannah-style balconies was built near the end of the Civil War by John Montgomery. It features a grand, open staircase and 10-foot ceilings, as well as the original floors and walk-in fireplace. During the course of restoration, an additional walk-in fireplace and the original dumbwaiter were discovered.
The house was once home to Civil War veteran Henry Pickle and his wife, Catharine. According to a newspaper article published in the early 1920s, the couple celebrated their 60th anniversary in the home with 85 guests.
The Sloads have chosen to maintain a period look to the entrance rooms of their home with a number of antiques in the parlor and dining room. Additions to the house include central air, a renovated basement, and a large, stone-paver patio.
18 East Front St.
Residence of Roger and Kelly Renteria
This stucco-over-brick Federal-style townhouse dates back to 1811 and was built by Mathias Ranck.
Once known as the Waterford House, it was named for the section of Marietta known as Waterford before the borough was incorporated. The wood floors and 4 fireplaces are original to the home. Roger and Kelly are new to Marietta and love the convenient location between Lancaster where Roger has his law practice and Etters where Kelly’s family resides. They have made the home their own with some newly completed renovations. Kelly will be dressing their home for the holidays using traditional greens and poinsettias. Please note the beautiful side garden as you exit the home.
121 E. Market St.
Residence of Lydia Sadauskas and Robert Shambaugh
Built in 1812, this Georgian-style home was once part of a three-bay tavern that was separated into three homes in the 1930s or ‘40s. One of the units was destroyed by fire and later rebuilt as a butcher’s shop. The portion purchased by Lydia and Robert in 2000 features original hardwood floors, pocket doors between the living room and kitchen, and recently restored nine-over-six window panes. Additions to the home include the deck area off the back, which affords easy outdoor living during summer months. There are also steps leading to a lower level deck with a pergola, stone wall, and pond.
55 Fairview Ave.
Residence of Lauralee Baker
The house boasts a Second Empire style, but the original frame structure, which was incorporated into the current three-story home, dates back to about 1850. Through its 160 years, the house has been owned by only two families, having been built for prominent Mariettan Barr Spangler. It has been home to the Baker family since 1956 and was named “Old Hickories” after the hickory trees in the garden.
The home features a variety of Victorian-era amenities, including a speaking tube between the formal room and servants’ areas, both utilitarian and ornamental fireplaces, full-length windows opening from the parlor and music room to side porches, plaster crown molding and rosettes, raised panel doors, and a wooden grate that covered the original central ventilation system.
Decorative highlights this year include traditional greenery and natural cuttings, as well as several trees adorned in a variety of themes. A pianist will be playing holiday music.
Outside, guests will find the original arbor, carriage way, and outhouses. Chimney caps from the roof are incorporated into the landscaping.
67 Fairview Ave.
Residence of Linda Mylin Ross and Michael Lackey
This Queen Anne Victorian was constructed in 1893 by Charles Spangler, the son of Barr Spangler, who lived next door. Guests should take note of the original design of the house as seen in an old photo displayed in the front hall. Around 1915, the front porch and some of the interior spaces were altered to reflect a classical revival fashion that was common at the time. Some of the highlights from that era include the wide columns and a new front door with sidelights.
The house remained in the Spangler family long after his death, but, when it changed hands in the middle of the last century, it was converted into apartments and lost much of its original detail.
When she purchased the building in 1975, Ms. Ross began the painstaking restoration of the apartment house back into a single-family dwelling. Together, the couple has blended the past with the present by acknowledging the significance of both. Some interior parts like the stair rails were salvaged from the basement, but other details – most notably the study and the kitchen – were recreated with an eye toward historical appropriateness. There is an abundance of contemporary art throughout the house, including work by Ms. Ross, who is a retired Penn State art professor.
As guests exit the house through the kitchen door and follow the path to the patio area behind the garage, they will notice the sun room, which houses plants that are brought in from the deck and porches for the winter.
190 Longenecker Ave.
Residence of Chester and Marion Miller
One of the newer structures on the tour, this English cottage-style home was built in in 1964 for Henry and Delores Rutherford.
The Millers purchased the property in 1992 and opened the Lavender Patch Bed and Breakfast. Despite the fact that the house is relatively “young,” it is decorated with a wide array of antiques, including three-quarter-size rope beds and hand-hooked rugs. The gazebo and screened-in porch offer relaxing spaces during summer months, from which bed and breakfast guests can enjoy the gardens decorated with Victorian fair. Additional features on the porch include an heirloom porcelain sink, wooden bench, and wooden vice. Guests are welcome to walk through the slumbering English herb gardens and take a peek inside the potting shed built by the Millers’ son.
281 West Market St.
Residence of Freddy and Dani States
This 3 story original yellow-brick home built in 1922 is featured on the Candlelight Tour for the first time. Owners Freddy and Dani States were first drawn to Marietta by McCleary’s Pub, a restaurant their family purchased in July 2006. They fell in love with the town and moved to this house in August 2007. This American Four Square home, also known as a “prairie box” has four bedrooms and three balconies. The interior is decorated with antiques that have been handed down over generations, as well as antiques from the Riverview Tower Mansion at the intersection of Routes 441 and 23. Artwork includes paintings of homes and landmarks throughout Marietta and Lancaster County done by Dani’s grandmother, Dolores Hackenberger.
3 East Market St.
Residence of Lesley Smith and John Fregede
This Italianate Victorian house was built around 1840 and served as a residence for iron master Henry Musselman. Naturally, the brick mansion features cast iron grillwork on both the first and second stories. A small building to the west of the house was Mr. Musselman’s offce – also known as the “counting house,” where he received his tenant farmers.
The home’s interior features original pine plank floors, 15-foot ceilings, and four marble non-working fireplaces. The basement has a summer kitchen with a “beehive” oven and dumbwaiter. On the second floor, guests will see an original cabinet in the bathroom that was imported from Italy. This was one of the first homes in Marietta with indoor plumbing, and much of the original hardware is intact.
The elbow bend at this part of Market Street denotes the original dividing line between the towns of New Haven and Waterford.