Check out the list below to learn more about the houses and stops on this year’s route!
1. Hayes, the Home Built by James Cathcart Johnston
Built by the son of Samuel and Frances Johnston, this outstanding manor house has been referred to as North Carolina’s Mount Vernon. Samuel Johnston was North Carolina’s first United States Senator, as well as a Governor of North Carolina. His wife Frances and several female relatives signed the Edenton Resolves, known as the Edenton Tea Party document. James Cathcart Johnston, their son, created a magnificent home on the Albemarle Sound.
Sam Dixon, President of the Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation, says this: “The restoration of Hayes and the addition of 200 acres of recreation land provide a place of unparalleled beauty for the people of Edenton to celebrate their shared histories. Hayes may be the most important historic site in North Carolina.”
For this Candlelight Christmas Tour, Hayes recreates an 1817 Christmas. A team of local volunteer floral designers gathered greenery and florals that showcase the beauty of northeastern North Carolina. Missie Harrell, Anne Ellis, and Kathleen Towers have created elegance and restrained beauty for you to experience. Gay Chatham, board member of the Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation, states: “While Hayes is currently undergoing a revitalization, visitors can see what Christmas 1817 brought to guests at that time. Sparkling silver and candlelight create an elegance and polish reflecting the dignity and grandeur of Hayes.”
Transportation to Hayes is provided by tour vans. Thanks to the Edenton-Chowan Senior Center, the Town of Edenton, and the Edenton Boys and Girls Club for vehicles and drivers, and to the Sisters of Strength, hostesses on the vans. For safety, no unauthorized vehicles will be accepted on the bridge or roads of Hayes, with the exception of residents who will have official passes.
2. The Gatehouse
In the nineteenth century, part of Samuel and Frances Johnston’s original home, which stood nearby, was moved to its current location. A fire had partially burned the original structure. What remained was incorporated into a new home known as the Gatehouse. This structure was enlarged around 1840 and then updated in the 1970s. Once homeowners John and Susan decided to join their relative who lives in the Gatehouse, they made the decision to again enlarge and update the house. In 2022-2023 architect Chris Bean and builder John Dail carefully determined how to preserve the Gatehouse’s history and original building materials while providing the needed updates. Gina Rascoe, interior designer, incorporated furnishings and fabrics into the spaces. John and Susan could not be happier with their new, old home.
The addition of a great room on the home’s north side created a U-shaped courtyard. Boxwoods and roses surround the courtyard while a lawn slopes down to Queen Anne’s Creek. The front orientation of the home continues to face the Albemarle Sound, providing beautiful sunsets from the front porches. Christmas will bring the outside into the house as Susan uses natural plant materials in her decorating. Mixed with gathered greenery, florals will include potted amaryllis, cut amaryllis, and lilies.
Among the traditions of the family are the ‘heavenly host of angels’ collected by John, Susan, and relatives. Also included are knitted stockings that will hand by the new fireplace in the great room. A stocking for their new grandchild, originally John’s Christmas stocking, will join the other stockings awaiting Santa’s arrival. A traditional Christmas tree will display family ornaments.
This Tour is not the first for Susan and John. They participated in three Candlelight Tours with a previous home. However, this Tour is a first for the Gatehouse. It is the very first time it has been on a Christmas Candlelight Tour. Susan says: “We had such a good time planning for this home, it just seemed like the right time, a good time, to share the Gatehouse with the Tour.” Tour organizers agree this year is definitely a good year to wish everyone Merry Christmas from this beautiful, renovated old house, the oldest on the Tour!
3. Life on Queen Anne’s Creek
The owners of this home, Chris and Mary, feel fortunate to have the best of two worlds, life in town and life on the water. Both North Carolina natives, water is important as Chris is a classic boat builder, restorer, and avid sailor. Mary enjoys their dock and gardens. Their panoramic view of the creek and the iconic wooden bridge, often colored with lush sunsets, brings them great pleasure.
Once inside this home Tour visitors will understand the connection to water as the ‘Men’s Den’ leads to a peek inside Chris’ shop. His special project, “Legacy,” is on display. This award-winning wooden boat was built with his father. Mary’s talents for creating objects are also seen throughout their home. Look for her unique use of oyster shells!
Overall, the home’s decor is traditional and will feature classic holiday elements. Smilax, the beloved accent greenery of an Edenton Christmas, will join lots of other greenery used throughout the house. Stars are an added theme, stars inside and out. Many of the inside stars are made by Mary, particularly origami Moravian stars which are a link to her alma mater, Salem College.
Chris and Mary say they are stewards of their property, not merely owners. “Our responsibility is to share this wonderful place and share our love for Edenton. Being on the Candlelight Tour is an important way for us to share!”
4. South Oakum Street Restorations for the Candlelight Tour
Two homes on the Tour are recently restored! The owners are excited to share their visions that have now come to fruition.
In the M. G. Brown home, circa 1916, owners Gail and Bob have been true to the home’s origins, yet updated it for today’s living. From the apple and pineapple urns at the front door to the wood burning brick fireplace on the back porch, this home says “Welcome!”
For the Tour, the large foyer sets the stage: elegant yet simple. Along with the front parlor, it will be reminiscent of the Christmas holidays the owners celebrated with their families. The dining room with its stunning round table will have a Christmas theme of red and gold. The family room is showcased with rich wood paneling and will feature many Santas and Nutcrackers collected through the decades. The completely renovated kitchen will carry the holiday theme to the back porch addition. Throughout this home, local greenery, floral displays, and Christmas trees with many years of collected ornaments will inspire as well as delight!
Interestingly enough, another house on this street and also on the Tour is a few years older than the M. G. Brown home, yet the owners of both are contemporaries! The husbands met in college at Rutgers, and years later, they and their wives found themselves living on the same street in Edenton, enjoying its small-town southern charms. More about this second home below!
5. South Oakum Street’s Happy Yellow House
Owners Margie and George have been busy! After traveling to Edenton from Illinois to visit old friends, they knew they wanted a historic Edenton home. They were thrilled to purchase such a house two doors down from George’s college friend, whose home is also on the Tour!
The current remodeling project includes an expanded dining area with a raised ceiling, a new screened porch, and a guest house and art studio. Margie is an artist and her painting in the parlor of her grandfather’s plow and denim jacket evokes memories of her rural childhood. “We are a huge Harry Potter family” according to Margie, so their Harry Potter collectibles will decorate the cupboard under the stairs!
Three grown sons each have a Christmas Train from their childhood. Only one train will be on display as Margie must bring it in her suitcase! No sibling rivalry here, they are glad to share in their parents’ new adventure in Edenton. While Margie will decorate the interior with international Santas on display throughout, George is the outdoor man, and twinkling lights are his Christmas forte. The magic of Christmas will be on full display, both inside and out!
Margie and George are thrilled to welcome visitors to their ‘Happy Yellow House.’ With their dear friends and now neighbors, the two couples are comparing notes and ideas as they prepare to be on their first Christmas Candlelight Tour. All agree they are excited to greet their visitors and wish them a very Merry Christmas!
6. The Piland House, Circa 1785
The Piland house was saved from seemingly inevitable loss and was moved to Edenton in 2010 by its current owners, Tom and Margaret. The homeowners could not pass when their current lot on East King Street became available, and having known of the Piland house for years in its then-abandoned condition in a Gates County forest, they were surprised and pleased when they discovered its physical condition was remarkable good. They embarked on a detailed but sympathetic restoration of the house, which was found to retain most of its original woodwork and floors.
The homeowners celebrate all seasonal holidays, but especially Christmas, with traditional themes and materials in keeping with their circa 1785 house. Their front door, as well as the front door of the circa 1790 Seay cabinet shop in their back yard, will display a wreath of natural greenery highlighted by holly, cedar, trumpet vine pods, and locally grown cotton.
When you enter the house, they plan to decorate a circa 1800 Lynchburg press with smilax from the local woods. Their tree will display a gingerbread theme with ornaments collected by Margaret during their travels. A recent addition to the Piland House collection, a desk made by Edenton’s own Jeremiah Mixson around 1800, will be ornamented for the season with holly and cedar. The gingerbread theme will continue into the sunroom-kitchen with freshly baked items. Margaret’s needle working skills will be well represented throughout the house with Christmas themed pillows, stockings, and ornaments for the tree.
7. Two Starry, Starry Nights! 
Five outdoor garden rooms at 310 East King Street, rather than the home’s interior rooms, welcome you with stars, twinkling lights, and sculptures. All these garden elements are set amid a botanical garden full of interesting plant materials. Looking high and low you see stars – stars in trees, stars in shrubs, stars in pots, stars on wreaths, stars outlining sculptures. Boxwoods, red twig dogwoods, roses, large crepe myrtles, hydrangeas, chaste trees, these are just a few of the plants in the garden rooms. Throughout the garden the magic of Christmas is conveyed through the twinkling lights surrounding everything.
A garden shed decorated for Christmas continues this magical atmosphere. Garden owners Mary Ann and Jack are collectors of beautiful and unique objects that are on display in the shed as well as in the garden. For instance, a fountain celebrating the couple’s wedding anniversary will be, of course, outlined with twinkling lights.
Perhaps the most unique and stunning sculpture is the trio of angels, “Angels Talk.” Commissioned by Mary Ann and Jack this piece was created by a New Jersey artist. The copper wings accompany an antique shot put incorporated as the angels’ head. The larger-than-life angels sit on individual marble pedestals.
This unique, magical, and beautiful garden setting definitely says joy amid a celebration of the holidays!
8. The Farmhouse, circa 1900
Moved from northern Chowan County, this farmhouse has new owners, and this is their first Christmas in this home. Debbie and Paul describe their new home as “a labor of love in progress!” And it must be love that convinced Debbie to repaint the floors with four coats of paint! Debbie says the house is “Somewhat quirky, in only the best ways, with its two front doors, mix of ceiling heights, curved foyer wall, and differing sizes of wood plank flooring.” The original bead board ceilings are in all but the living room. The wavy glass of the original windows is a focal point. Furnishings, collected over 45 years, are Pennsylvania Dutch antiques.
The Christmas decor includes half a century of ornaments that tell the owners’ story and represent events, trips, years, and family milestones. In keeping with the farmhouse style, several Christmas trees are in this home along with greenery, ribbons, bows, and pinecones mingled with Christmas collectibles.
From the beautifully curved front porch to the large enclosed back porch, Paul and Debbie describe this home as filled with enormous passion and warmth. They are delighted to share their “little slice of Edenton” with the Christmas Candlelight Tour guests!
9. When is a Warehouse Not a Warehouse?
Edenton native Scotty Harrell had a vision: luxury living in a repurposed 1900’s cotton warehouse as part of the restoration of the Edenton Cotton Mill. Together with his wife, Missie, they transformed this vision into reality in 2020.
Today, the former long-standing mayor of Edenton and his wife make this building their home. Peggy Anne has transformed the space into a livable, beautiful, and comfortable environment. Roland continues his involvement with the town as chairman of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Albemarle from his home office. Together they will welcome Tour guests into this most unusual, but still definitely an Edenton, home.
For this Christmas Tour, Peggy Anne will bring her talents to every corner of the (ware)house. The soaring ceilings, open floor concept, and large windows looking out on the wooded areas set the Christmas stage. Nature and nurture go hand-in-hand. Nature provides the backdrop of Queen Anne’s Creek seen from the immense windows, while Peggy Anne will nurture the space with her floral arrangements of cotton, oyster shells, antlers, fresh amaryllis, and mosses. In keeping with the age of the building, the Vaughans’ Christmas tree will have antique ornaments.
All of the wood in the interior, from ceiling beams to floors, is original to the warehouse. From Peggy Anne and Roland: “We particularly invite anyone who worked at the Mill to please come see this transformation!”
You want to visit this unique space, partly because this is the last Tour for the Vaughans. Bittersweet but true, the call of children and grandchildren is luring them to Raleigh. Stop by to thank them for all they have done for Edenton and to wish them a Merry Christmas!
10. Edenton’s Cotton Mill Village, The First Christian Church, and The Edenton Cotton Mill Museum of History
The beautiful tree-lined streets of the Village await you! Six places in the Village are on this year’s Tour. At the end of this particular street is the First Christian Church. Since 1916 this church has served the Village and beyond. For the Candlelight Tour the church will open its doors to provide a rest stop with Christmas spirit. Carols and other Christmas music performed by pianist Betsy Johnstone will take place from 5pm – 6:30 each evening. In addition, the Episcopal Youth Group will have hot chocolate and goodies available in the Church yard. Restrooms in the Church and its next-door Annex will also be available.
Nearby is the Edenton Cotton Mill Museum of History. Telling the story of the Mill and the Village, this space is a testament to the spirit and community of this neighborhood. Beth Taylor, President of the Museum Association, describes this Tour experience as “a preservation gem. It tells the story of cotton from its plant beginnings to its resulting end product manufactured at the mill. In addition, the story of life in the Village is shared.” A railroad display board, created by the Carolina Piedmont Division of the National Model Railroad Association shows the entire area of the village.
11. One of a Few (In More Ways Than One!)
This village home is one of a few, actually six on this north side of the village, that are two-story. A family lived here, with ten children. Reverend Alexander was one of the early villagers. He worked at the mill, preached at the Mill Church and raised his family here and in other houses in the village. Today, this house continues to include a family at Christmas.
Few houses in the Mill Village can boast of 6 fireplaces as this one can. And for the Christmas Candlelight Tour, none of the owners except the two here are boasting that they have Santa sitting on the front porch! Once inside, guests are met with examples of the love in the family and love for this home. As homeowner Annie explains: “No one was surprised when we moved into the Mill Village, into a house that needed some care. When John and I married, our first house was an old one that needed work, that was on a quaint brick paved street, in a small town where you knew your neighbors. Just like in the Edenton Mill Village, while not with brick streets. The village has all the charm we have grown to love.”
Guests will experience the charm of this home, the Christmas decorations and greenery (Annie is a volunteer gardener). There is also a very large dollhouse, owned by a family member, that is ‘visiting’ from Durham, just for this tour.
Another of the ‘few?’ As with all the Tour homeowners, Annie and John say they are on this tour to share Edenton and hope that others will fall in love with Edenton as they have. Homeowner husbands say they enjoy the tour and working with their families to share the Christmas spirit of the Tour and Edenton. However, homeowner John takes this enjoyment up several notches. He is one of the few husbands on the Tour who actually looks forward to this experience with great glee. His glee is expressed in the opportunity to say: “Ho, Ho, Ho” to each of the guests! Come say Merry Christmas, Santa!
12. The Town that Barry Built
This Mill Village home was purchased by Mimi and Barry to house Barry’s passion for model trains, one he has had since childhood. This is the first year Barry has shared his collections and railroad town with the public. What a town it is! Every single piece of the working display has been created by Barry. Mimi knew the outbuilding for Barry’s trains was perfect. The huge, working collection of Lionel “O” gauge trains, tracks, and buildings are seen as one exits the family house and enters the train house.
Mimi fell in love with their house as they reconfigured spaces and moved walls. These changes allowed them to showcase another love for this family, boats and sailing. Memories of a year spent as a family in the Bahamas, living and sailing together, can be seen throughout their home. From the Christmas tree decorated with collected shells to the brass items (polished each year by Barry), this home is filled with symbols of adventure.
As Mimi and Barry settled into village life, they discovered an old outbuilding to move to their property for Mimi’s passion, working with textiles. An accomplished, award-winning seamstress, Mimi is known for her creation of gorgeous fabric furnishings. This third building, Mimi’s studio, is open with a collection of dolls on display.
These three structures, with an added garage building and outdoor garden rooms, create a unique corner of the Edenton Mill Village. For every kid-at-heart on this Tour, the trains, the dolls, and the sheer joy of Christmas as seen here are a definite treat!
13. A Mill Village Home with Additions
The first thing you notice when you walk into this beguiling, interesting home is a ladder.
It is not just any old ladder but a special ladder, very tall and unique, made to access the loft room to the side of the entrance hall. The full room-sized loft and entry area woodwork reminds one of being on a boat. This nautical feeling is not surprising. These particular elements are from an earlier renovation carried out by, of course, a boatbuilder! Today the loft is a perfect place for grandchildren to hide away and imagine all the fun things to do in Edenton and the Mill Village.
Another thing you notice in this home are the handcrafted objects lovingly made by owner Jean. She is an artisan in felting, her Nativity and her Twelve Days of Christmas felted-figures are enticing. Mrs. Claus as a ballerina is enchanting!
Equally prominent are images from the world travels taken by this couple. And horses, in paintings and on display. Jean took on equestrian skills before retirement and continues them in this new Edenton home with her Edenton horse. Jean’s husband’s consuming passion, golf, is not so evident. While you won’t see a decorated golf club, you do see Dennis’ work on display. Even though he plays golf daily he has left time in his schedule to decorate the JOY tree in the front yard. He also assisted Jean in assembling what they fondly refer to as the ‘eclectic collections of Christmas.’ Jean and Dennis are excited to share their first time on the Candlelight Christmas Tour with all the guests taking the Tour! Please wish them ‘Merry Christmas’ as they celebrate in the Edenton Mill Village.
14. Mill Village Home, circa 1920’s, and 21st Century Airstream
Owner Rick and his wife Katie were on the Christmas Candlelight tour 25 years ago. They had just opened their restaurant, Waterman’s Grill, the year before. Rick remembers they were very, very busy but they wanted to support Edenton and the Tour and “Katy couldn’t say no.”
Her parents came to help decorate and they all enjoyed showing off the Mill Village. Katy’s effervescent personality lit up Edenton. From her work with the Steamers to her support of Downtown Edenton to the Mill Village, she brought joy everywhere she went. Katy and Rick were known for their smiles and welcoming visitors to Edenton. With Katy’s death, Rick has continued his commitment to Edenton and added traveling in his Airstream to his life.
For this year’s tour, Rick is once again sharing his love for the Mill Village and Edenton. In keeping with the close-knit community spirit of the Mill Village, neighbors are assisting with the decorations. Rick will provide the welcome. The home is built with two front doors, indicating two bachelors once shared the structure. Rick added the screened-in porch. The Airstream, a new addition, will be open and Rick will answer questions about his Airstream travels. As Rick says: “I am so glad to live here and enjoy the quaintness, beauty, and close-knit community. It makes Christmas special.”
Public Building: The Unanimity Lodge # 7-215 East Water Street
‘Proud as Punch’ is the phrase that comes to mind when talking with a member of this Masonic Lodge. Its history and stories are fascinating; ask about George Washington! Members look forward to sharing these stories as they open this unique corner of Edenton for Christmas Candlelight Tour guests. In addition to being a rest stop, restrooms available, the Lodge location will be a hub of activity. The lawn will have seating under a tent so guests can enjoy dessert and beverage service from nearby vendors. Across the street will be the loading area for vans taking guests to visit Hayes and the Gatehouse.
Inside the Lodge Christmas music will lift the rafters at 6pm both evenings! The Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church Choir will perform Friday at 6pm. The Warren Grove Missionary Baptist Church Choir will perform Saturday at 6pm.
The building was constructed in 1954. However, the Lodge was formed in the 18th Century. Unanimity Lodge #7, AF & AM was chartered in 1775! Mickey Spruill, long time member, is justly proud of this colonial heritage. Lodge minutes of July 6, 1778 state: “the Justices gave leave the Lodge might be held in the Courthouse (the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse).” Meetings were held there and later at the new lodge structure built in 1954. Since the 18th Century, Freemasons of North Carolina have been “encouraging and cultivating friendship, morality, and brotherly love.” This is definitely seen in Mickey Spruill, the Tour’s contact with the Lodge. As a long-time business owner in Edenton and a strong supporter of all things Edenton, including this Candlelight Tour, Mickey and the Unanimity Lodge #7 are thanked for their participation in this year’s Tour.