Historic Snohomish Home Tour

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The 37th Annual Historic Snohomish Home Tour was a little different this year. Some found it odd to have the home tour feature homes without a tour of the home. This year's Historic Snohomish Home Tour celebrated the work of Snohomish's first architect, John S. White. White worked as a designer and builder in the 1880s and 1890s.

Twenty stops along the walking tour this year, eighteen featured work from White. Some stops like number seventeen only had a photo drawing of what once was. Others such as stop three, six, eleven and thirteen were exterior only, but all in all it was an entertaining tour.

John and Sharon St. Marie were more than happy to take each guest around their 1885 Methodist Church, showing off the Victorian architecture. The old church is no longer the Methodist Church; it's now called, The Belle Chapel, and is a wonderful place to hold one-of-a-kind weddings. This Snohomish wedding chapel is unique; there is nothing else quite like it anywhere in Washington State.

A highlight of this year's tour was stop fourteen, The Maughlin House 1889. This was one of the stops that had access to most of the house and it was fantastic. Speaking with the homeowner I found that she had been working on the house and collecting antiques for over 20 years. She found it to be quite enjoyable to complete each different task.

Another fabulous stop was number 9, what a treat to see such care. To top it off a few guests were lucky enough to be greeted at the door by Joan Hemm, a woman that is becoming a regular at local events and known for her 1890 - 1930s era dress. She hand crafts her vintage clothing and assembles them to match clothing from times gone past. WOW! Today's dress was great, keep up the awesome work Joan.

Being greeted by ROTC Cadets at all the residential stops was a wonderful sight. It is refreshing to see honor and respect given to the U.S. Military by having these young cadets standing tall to help this annual event. Sharp and respectful are two words that come to mind first when I think of how they greeted the guests. It's a true testament to why are military has the strength and honor that it does; these cadets have the ability to carry on a grand tradition.

A fun extra on first street that happened to catch my eye; Tim Noah was performing in front of Weeds Variety Store. You never can tell what you will find in Historic Snohomish Washington. We will see you next year for more exciting scenes from the past.