2001 Historical Home Tour

In 2001, the tour was based mainly in Anna, Illinois. Three homes and one historical church building are located within the city limits; one home is located in a rural area with an Anna address. One unique feature of this year's tour was that the Saturday times were be in the afternoon and evening. Some sites featured luminaries and candlelit windows to add extra atmosphere to this tour. Part of the proceeds of this year's tour benefited the St. Anne's project.

The owners of this home have rescued one of the early great brick homes of the county. Doing all the work themselves, they have restored and enlarged this 1879 two-story house for an active family of today. The house was originally the home of Matilda and William Moreland. She was the daughter of William and Millie Guthrie Rich of Cobden. In the 1940's it was bought by another family and divided into two apartments for many years. This home is now furnished with beautiful antiques and salvaged architecture to retun it to its elegant origins.

Built in 1900, this quaint two-story home was purchased by the current owners in 1995. Before 1995, the house had been an apartment building for over 10 years and was rapidly declining. In the last six years, it has undergone top to bottom renovation. The home has been decorated with antiques, collectables and furnishings reflecting the owners taste for a traditional style with Victorian accents.

A portion of this home is a reconstructed log cabin built in 1856 for the Tom Hughes family. The cabin was originally located on nearby "Hughes Hill" and was moved to the present site in 1993. Tom Hughes, the bulider of the cabin is an ancestor of one of the owners of this home. Logs and wood from an old barn were used to increase the living space in the cabin. The home is attractively decorated with a variety of antiques such as crockery, basketry and other primitive utilitarian items in keeping with the log cabin setting. The original stone fireplace was reconstructed.

This stately Federal style home sits on a double stone foundation and was built arond 1896. It is thought that part of the house was rebuilt after a small fire in the 1930's; original oak floors and oak trim as well as some of the light fixtures and interior doors remain. The focal point of the house's exterior is the original iron fence in front of the property and the massive oak door with sidelights and a fan light.

Historical Church Building -- St. Anne's Church

The cornerstone for this native fieldstone church building was laid in 1886. The original furniture was all handmade by the parishoners and the land was bought from another for $225.00. The original building had a bell tower that had to be taken down in the early 1900's. Efforts are being made to preserve the building for special events. More history on this building may be obtained by clicking on this link: More History