House Tour, Wreath Sale Taking Place Saturday

The Madison Historical Society will be holding a wreath sale and house tour at 254 Woodland Rd. between 1 and 4 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 5.

The house, owned by Ellen Harris, is Georgian style and was built in the early 1900s.

"The house is a very good example of Georgian style, a very symmetrical style," said Cathie Coultas, secretary of the Madison Historical Society and the person in charge of the wreath sale.  "(Harris) has kindly given us the house for the afternoon."

Coultas said the house was finished in 1907 and build by A.W. Brown, a marble merchant. The fireplace, windowsills, and other structures are made of marble. Artwork also adorns the inside of the structure.

Admission is $5 a person, with benefits from the tour and the sale of wreathes going toward the archaeological study of the Luke Miller Forge on Ridgedale Avenue.

This would be the second excavation of the grounds. Coultas said the last study unearthed 1,300 items, helping to prove that the forge was very active. She also said that Ridgedale Avenue was a route for Revolutionary War soldiers, and that it is almost certain that George Washington traveled the road to have his horses taken care of.

"Luke Miller was a Revolutionary War-era blacksmith who had a home which is still standing," Coultas said.

Adjacent to that home was the forge.

Coultas said that they have applied for a grant to help with the archaeological excavation. If the grant comes through and not all of the money raised from Saturday's event is needed, the remaining money will go toward the restoration of the forge.

"What we want to do, along with the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, is restore the building to make it look like a forge from that era," Coultas said. "The museum would create displays of old tools and then we would open it up to the public."

Wreathes sold on Saturday will have been made from all live materials. Those who will have created the wreathes include members of the Garden Club of Madison (member of the Garden Club of America), students from Madison High School working with the service learning program, members of the Historical Society, and other volunteers. Coultas expects there to be about 40 wreathes for sale to go along with the house tour.