New Albany tour to showcase historic homes
Aug. 29—NEW ALBANY — For Scott Scarboro and Karen Welch, owning an old home has been an opportunity to uncover unexpected pieces of history.
Their home at 2020 E. Oak St. in New Albany is more than a century old, and the building retains many original details. But unlike most historic homes, the house was moved from its original location.
The house's history is among the stories that will be shared at the New Albany Historic Home Tour. It is one of 11 buildings to be featured at the Sept. 9 event.
This is the 16th year of the tour, which is presented by Indiana Landmarks and Develop New Albany.
The tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees will begin at the New Albany Farmers Market, where they will pick up booklets before 3 p.m. before visiting the historic homes at their own pace.
Floyd County Historian David Barksdale said the tour is the chance to learn about the stories and architecture of the buildings. Visitors can see how owners have preserved the historic elements of their homes while also seeing how the homes have been updated.
The historic homes tour also includes three homes in the Silver Hills neighborhood and two mansions on Main Street. The buildings range from an 1860s mansion to 1920s bungalows.
"It's a wide range of times and a wide range of different styles too," Barksdale said.
Scarboro and Welch have enjoyed learning the history of their house, which they have owned since 2006. The home was built around 1908 at 2023 Ekin Ave.
The house was relocated from Ekin Avenue to its current location to make way for Silver Creek Elementary School, according to Barksdale. The school opened in 1916.
The house was placed on top of a basement when it was moved to Oak Street.
Today, the rooms are filled with art, antiques and eclectic decorations, and the house's historic features range from the old fireplaces to the wooden cabinets.
When Welch was outside watering her plants one day, two women stopped by to see the house, including a member of the Dunn family, the original owners of the home who lived there before the move. She grew up in a mostly deaf and mute family, and she shared stories with Welch about the home's history and her family.
"If I hadn't been out there watering I would have missed the whole thing," Welch said. "So she brought me some letters and told me all those stories. We looked at [old photographs], and almost everything has been kept the same."
She feels "honored" for the house to be featured on the tour.
"We've worked on this house a lot, so we're very, very tickled," Welch said. "We will see what people think of it and see if maybe somebody else has some more stories about why this house was moved."
Scarboro described the tour as a "chance to show off what we've been doing" with the home, including their work to garden and transform their yard.
"We've been working hard on the house," he said. "The whole backyard was just a gravel pit and a chain link fence."
Another highlight of the tour is the Shipman-McCord house, an 1866 home at 1206 E. Main St. built by the same architects who built the Culbertson Mansion. The house is "very commanding," Barksdale said.
Most of the buildings on this year's tour have never been featured before except for the Town Clock Church, or Second Baptist Church, in downtown New Albany.
"There are still a lot of people that haven't been in that magnificent building, and they don't know the story," Barksdale said. "So we graciously welcomed them on the tour again this year."
The tour is a rewarding experience for the homeowners, Barksdale said.
"They're just so appreciative of the people who come on the tour, because the people that come on this tour, they just lavish the homeowners with all kinds of accolades," he said.
