Take pride, Wiscasset, as people from all over Maine, and other parts of the country, came to peek inside our fascinating collection of homes on tour!

The weather on tour day, Saturday, July 8, was perfect for the event: dry, cloudy, and started off cool (temperatures rose later in the day). Not a good beach day, but a great day for a home tour!

About 200 people wandered Wiscasset’s historic district, strolling from Homes on Tour (HOT) site to site to take in the spectacle of this eclectic mix. The Customs House on Water Street, now a private residence, was a big draw. Visitors enjoyed seeing the historical blueprints for the building when it was offices and the town’s post office, but it was the modern adaptations by home owners Stacy and Jack Nelson that they came to see – the luxurious renovation that transformed the 14-foot high ceilings and other architectural challenges into an enviable home, the combining of the new with the handsome period details still intact.

In contrast, Rose Cottage, with its add-on porch facing Federal Street, was originally part of a manufacturing plant, the C.M. Ames Wagons and Carriage Shop, and now presents to the world as a small and modest home. But inside, the cottage features a music room with a grand piano, multiple fireplaces, hand-painted furniture by David Marsh, and the coziest den imaginable. Deborah and John Rumery, visiting from the Portland area, were stunned when they saw the
abundance of blooming roses lining the fence. Thirty years ago, while writing for the Maine Rose Society Newsletter, Deborah visited Wiscasset to interview horticulturist and world traveler Grace Wetherill about her extensive rose collection. Deborah said that as she was anticipating the home tour, she was also hoping to find the home where she had interviewed Grace so long ago. And now here she was, talking with Rose Cottage owner Terry Heller and looking out the window at the vigorously blooming roses, yes, planted by Grace and now tended with devotion by Terry!

Each home on the tour had a “house captain” directing flow and checking in with homeowners, and a fleet of docents helping to interpret the sites, refilling water and lemonade pitchers, and answering questions. At Damon House, house captain Julee Ketelhut noted that visitors appreciated meeting homeowner Jorge Pena, a working artist. “I can’t believe I get to see a working artist’s studio today!” and homeowner/resident gardener Richard Litz. “We always heard about them (the gardens), but never thought we’d get to see them ourselves.”

For Sherry Pinkham, a Wiscasset resident for more than 50 years, this was the first time she’d seen the inside of any of the day’s homes. For her, the Clock Tower House was a standout. “That is so beautiful! The collections (of the homeowner) are so neat!” House Captain Peggy Konitzky said foot traffic was steady throughout the day and the positive response to owner Ric Riccardi’s collections was overwhelmingly positive. By the end of the tour, he had a list of people who wanted to come back and shoot pool on one of his three tables!

At the Emerson-Blagdon House, it was the owners’ art collection and old-house details that wowed people. The floors were made of very wide boards: “Imagine the size of the trees these came from!” And the late 18th century home was just the right setting for displaying objects made by indigenous people from the Northwest, antique furniture, jugs, and traditional quilts and coverlets. Homeowners Billy Blaylock and Palmer Hagestrom said they were touched by how frequently visitors thanked them for opening their beautiful home.

A new feature of this year’s Homes on Tour was a tasty and affordable picnic lunch option. HOT organizer Ann Light worked with Wiscasset’s Back River Bistro to plan the menu, delivery and many other details including Dave Lawlor’s gig on jazz guitar. The perfect picnic spot, offered to Homes on Tour by Historic New England, was the charming lawn and garden of the historic Nickels-Sortwell House. And all tourgoers were treated to HOT hospitality in each home where an assortment of cookies and tea cakes, made by Lisa and Will Truesdell, were available for refreshment through the day. “Are these cookies made by volunteers?” asked one visitor. “Delicious!”

Another tourgoer took the accolades a step further: The tour “made me feel good about living in Wiscasset. Everyone was friendly and welcoming.” And that is as good as a tour can be!

Wiscasset Homes on Tour is a fundraiser for Wiscasset Creative Alliance to support the Alliance’s community programs. Initial estimates indicate the day-long event raised around $4,500. According to Alissa Eason, president of the Alliance’s board of directors and chair of the HOT planning team, “We were able to build on the success of last year’s inaugural home tour with another slate of uniquely lovely homes. And the homeowners themselves were once again gracious and generous, as were the many volunteers who made the event possible.”

Wiscasset Homes on Tour 2023 sponsors were BIRCH Home Furnishings & Gifts, Bradbury Art & Antiques, J&A Construction, Joseph Zoellers Interiors, Sherri Dunbar/Tim Dunham Realty, and Water Street Kitchen & Bar; with additional support from Carriage House Gardens and Screen Thoughts. For more information about Wiscasset Creative Alliance, www.WiscassetCreativeAlliance.org