Lake Helen Christmas Home Tour will transport visitors back in time

Town will open its doors to tourists

By Jennifer Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Nov 24, 2009 - 2:13:05pm

Zipping along Interstate 4, most people don’t realize they’re passing a town largely untouched by time. Lake Helen proudly boasts it has no stoplights. Its City Hall is a renovated historical building. With a population of less than 3,000, Lake Helen has managed to be progressive, while maintaining the closeness of a small town.

An even bigger secret than the quaint town’s existence is its biennial home tour. Every other year, Lake Helen throws open its doors to everyone. Folks are invited to take a step back to the late 1800s, to learn what “small town” really meant then.

Pam Salvetti, tour publicity chairwoman, and Lou Gutshall, tour co-chairwoman, talked about the magic that will take place in the beginning of December, at the 13th biennial Lake Helen Christmas Home Tour.

This is not a mere viewing of historic structures from the outside. Homes, churches and public buildings will be open for inspection. The buildings herald from the 1880s through the 1920s, and have been restored to their original glory.

“It’s kind of like a history lesson,” Salvetti said. “It’s more than a regular tour.”

Volunteer docents will be in the houses to talk about and answer questions about the rooms, furnishings and buildings.

“It’s like going back in time,” Gutshall said.

Seven homes, five churches and three other buildings will be open. Tours will run 12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6.

One home, Edgewood, is a work in progress. The home is a local celebrity, having been featured as a set in movies.

Tour tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 at the door. All the money goes back into the community through the tour sponsor, the Lake Helen League for Better Living.

The tickets themselves are keepsake quality: Glossy four-page brochures, highlighting each home, that open into a full map of the tour sites, are fountains of historical information.

The tickets are good for both days of the tour, so participants can take their time wandering through Lake Helen’s past.

“We do mark off the places you’ve visited,” Gutshall said.

There is so much to see and do, Salvetti said, that folks may want to allow an entire afternoon for the experience.

The tour will start at Hopkins Hall, 192 W. Connecticut Ave. The Butler Express train will act as a trolley, and complete a loop of the tour every 20-25 minutes.

“Some of the homes are clustered together, so people can walk through an area and then get back on the train for the next stop,” Gutshall said.

The buildings aren’t the only special feature; they’re just the most special, the women said.

Carolers will roam the streets, and just about everyone in town will bake cookies, which will be served at Hopkins Hall. Antique cars, riders on horseback, and even old-fashioned bicycles will be on the scene, keeping within the period theme.

Gutshall said she took the tour when she was a Maitland resident.

“I came back and bought my favorite house,” Gutshall added. “I don’t think a town like this exists anywhere.”

Salvetti said many people aren’t aware of the historical significance of Lake Helen.

“[Henry] DeLand founded Lake Helen. Lake Helen was named for Helen DeLand, his daughter, and a lot of people don’t know that,” she said.

The connection between the neighboring cities remains. The home tour alternates between the cities. DeLand hosts it in the even-numbered years, and Lake Helen has the odd-numbered years.

Both women agreed that just about everyone in Lake Helen comes together to host this event, and that’s what sets it apart from other tours of its type.

“It’s huge,” Salvetti said. “We have, like, 200 volunteers.”

“It’s an ambiance,” Gutshall added. “That’s what makes it fun.”

For more information, call Gutshall at 386-228-9818.

13th biennial Lake Helen Christmas Home Tour sites:

Hopkins Hall, 192 W. Connecticut Ave. Built in 1897 as a community hall and library.

210 W. Connecticut Ave. Built on land platted by Henry DeLand in 1885.

226 N. Euclid Ave. Built in 1885, this is an example of the homes built in Lake Helen shortly after it was founded by Henry DeLand.

186 S. Euclid Ave. Built by John Mace in 1892 for Ellis Blake on property purchased from Henry DeLand.

Edgewood, 214 S. Euclid Ave. Designed and built in 1886 by Lake Helen’s first mayor.

Blake Memorial Baptist Church, 134 N. Euclid Ave. Opened on Christmas Day 1894.

First Congregational United Church of Christ, 107 S. Euclid Ave. The oldest still-standing church building in Lake Helen. The first service here was on Easter Sunday 1888.

Mount Zion Baptist Church, 282 Church St. The oldest church in the city. The original sanctuary was destroyed by fire, and this replacement was built in 1933.

Mount Olive AME Church, 683 W. Ohio Ave. Built by the congregation — a completely volunteer work force — this church was completed in 1918. Sweet-potato pie and beverages can be purchased at Mount Olive during the home tour.

Lake Helen United Methodist Church, 121 W. Delaware Ave. Built in 1924, this Gothic-revival-style church originally featured two large wood-burning heaters.

229 S. Euclid Ave. Built in 1921, this home is believed to have been purchased from an Aladdin Homes catalog.

Shoestring Theatre, 380 S. Goodwin St. Built in 1917, the building served as the city’s black school until desegregation in 1967.

Lake Helen Museum, 327 S. Lakeview Drive The building, built in 1915, serves as City Hall. It is a restored school building, and hosts the museum, founded by the Lake Helen Historical Society.

307 N. Lakeview Drive This is a 1915 Cracker-style cottage with a nautical New England flavor.

194 W. Craig Ave. Built around 1915, this home is rumored to have once housed workers from the Bond Lumber Mill.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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