A group of home and business owners whose properties are more than 100 years old will be featured in the Bartholomew County Historical Society’s Open Door Tour.
What had traditionally been called the Historic Homes Tour has evolved over the past 46 years with a new name and a new focus. Now billed as the Open Door Tour, eight homes – all located north of downtown Columbus – will be part of the June 8 tour from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. The 2019 tour also includes an inn, a business in a historic structure and a public building.
That’s quite a change from the first annual tour in October 1973, when the only Columbus residence on the tour was a Lafayette Avenue cottage. The four other homes presented during the original tour were located near Azalia, Hope and in Clifty Township.
The historic homes tour was offered on a regular basis up until 2010, when a decision was made to discontinue the fundraiser, said Diane Robbins, the historical society’s executive director.
But reviving it last year was so popular that a decision was made to have it again this year, she said. The organization is considering having tours every other year starting in 2021, Robbins said.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
