PARIS — A tour of 14 homes and flower gardens on historic Paris Hill, the first indoor/outdoor combination of its kind in many years, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, as a new feature of the annual Hamlin Library and Museum Founder’s Day celebration.

The home and garden tour will benefit the village Academy Hall, the 1856 two-story, belfried former schoolhouse which now serves local residents as the Community Club.

The architecture in the village, a National Historic District, dates to 1789, four years before the town was incorporated. The homes, characterized by owners as “money pits,” are a dictionary of early architectural Americana.

Open house and garden combinations start with the 1802 Smith House on Paris Hill Road; the Crossroads home (1818), the Rice Home (1818) and the Registry (1826), all three on Hannibal Hamlin Drive; the Marble Farmstead (1840) on Lincoln Street, the Hammond house (1853) on Paris Hill Road and the Birches (1885) on Christian Ridge Road.

The Crossroad gardens combine with those of the old courthouse. They were designed by Katherine Kleitz and date to the early 20th century. Like the courthouse, the Registry was once part of a cluster of county buildings converted to private homes after 1895.

The Rice Home, originally built by Simeon Cummings, was devastated by a fire in 2000, leaving only the lilacs still growing. Both the house with its Rufus Porter murals and the perennial gardens have been painstakingly restored by Mr. and Mrs. Anton H. Rice III of Greenwich, Conn.

The Registry, the summer home of Col. (ret.) and Mrs. Robert DeMont, is being shown for the first time. The unique brick structure served as the Oxford County offices until 1895, and is directly across from the old granite jail house now housing the Hamlin Library.

The Greek Revival Hammond House was originally built by Benjamin Bates and owned by the Jarius K. Hammond family until 1930. It is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. John Richardson who have extensively restored and renovated the property.

One of the most carefully restored, in terms of house, barn and garden, is the 1840 Jarvis Marble homestead on Lincoln Street. The property is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Michael Brogan, transplanted Californians who have fashioned a showplace.

The Birches, the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Pinto on Christian Ridge Road, contains 18 rooms, five baths and five working fireplaces. The gardens date to the ownership of Mary Burchfield in the late 1800s. The home, walls, gardens and walks have been restored by the Pintos.

The Hubbard House (1807) owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Burmeister, may claim title to the oldest and largest gardens on Paris Hill. The gardens are on the east side of the Paris Hill Road across from the Village Common. The north garden, designed by Patrick Chasse of Landscape Design Associates, is home to the largest swamp white oak in the state.

The Ledges, the 1840 home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Robinson next door to the Academy building, has extensive day lily gardens designed and tended by Mr. Robinson. The gardens and back lawns face one of Paris Hill’s spectacular views of the White Mountains.

The Morin and Rideout gardens on the west side of Paris Hill Road are part of the former Rideout family compound. The gardens are fairly modern by village standards, terraced with rock walls and facing another spectacular mountain view.

The Rawson gardens at the corner of Lincoln Street and Paris Hill Road include perrenials, evergreens, terraced rock walls and mature trees. Further up Lincoln Street, Jarvis Marble’s other house (the one he built for his daughter) sits beside Brogans with gardens designed and maintained by Chris and Pam Brown.

Across the street from Brown’s and Brogan’s is Judy Gideonse’s carefully planned English garden, a small masterpiece designed by David Neufeld.

Rounding out the gardens-only side of the tour is Sunny Croft Farm, a 1911 combination of farmhouse, barn and gardens. The only working farm still in operation on Paris Hill, it is owned by Dr. and Mrs. Russell Florenz.

Attendees will find food and refreshments available at the Community Club, on the Common and at the nearby Paris Hill Country Club.

Tickets are $20 and are available at Books N Things in downtown Norway, and on the day of the event at the Marble Farmstead (57 Lincoln St.) and on the village common across from the library and museum.

The house and garden tour is being offered in conjunction with the annual showing of the Bahre family classic automobile collection. The extensive collection of early American and European cars is considered one of the finest in the United States. It is housed in garages on the grounds of the Bahres’ Hannibal Hamlin house, beside the Hamlin Library and across the street from the village common.

Copy the Story Link