By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The historic Yager house in Decatur and the onetime home of Gene Stratton Porter in Geneva are two of the sites on this weekend’s Christmas Home Tours being held by the Berne Chamber of Commerce and The Adams County Historical Society.
The Yager house dates to 1880 and Porter’s Limberlost Cabin was constructed in 1895.
There are eight sites on the tour; hours are 1-6 p.m.
Tickets are $20 per person and are available in advance at the Next Page Bookstore in Decatur and the Berne Chamber office.
Tickets will be available throughout the Saturday-Sunday event as they can be purchased at each of the participating locations.
“You set your own pace and start wherever you choose,” a tours spokesperson said. “The tickets will be checked at each location and you can go to as many or as few as you want.
“In fact, if you choose to split the days up and do some both Saturday and Sunday, that is fine as well.”
RENOVATING: Homeowners Michael and Rebecca Webb purchased the 1880 Queen Anne Victorian house in Decatur in 2014 and have been renovating and restoring it ever since, according to information provided by tour organizers.
It was built by Leopold Yager, a widower with five children who owned Yager Furniture and Undertaking on Second Street in Decatur. He and his family lived in the house until 1961.
The Webbs are the seventh owners.
The house is filled with original oak trim and woodwork throughout and several stained glass window and transoms. It has 11-foot ceilings and multiple fireplaces to add to the elegance.
The balcony has been restored, keeping the original cedar columns intact.
ON REGISTER: The home of the famed Indiana author, Gene Stratton-Porter, the Limberlost Cabin is an architectural beauty which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and currently operates as a state historic site.
Constructed in 1895, it’s a mixture of the Queen Anne style and rustic Wisconsin cedar log veneer, according to tour organizers.
Stratton-Porter lived in the home for 25 years and during that time wrote six of her 12 novels and five of her nature books, including her best-selling books, “Freckles’” and ‘”A Girl of the Limberlost”.
In the 1800’s, the famous Limberlost Swamp was treacherous and stretched over 13,000 acres. It was the playground and inspiration for Stratton-Porter’s articles, fiction storybooks and photographs.
In addition to being a world-renowned author, Gene was also a pioneering naturalist, nature photographer and conservationist, and eventually became a movie production studio owner in Hollywood.
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