Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Kosciusko County Historical Society's historic home tour is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ticketholders will see a bit of the countryside during the event, whether they start out at Tippecanoe Country Club, east of Leesburg, or along Center Street in Warsaw. In between are two stops in Clunette and two slightly northwest of the country club.
A map detailing each location is printed on each ticket.
Visitors to the Mike and Wendy Meck house, 2889 E. CR 750N, Leesburg, will see a a tasteful restoration of a two-story country home. This house, constructed around 1860, also is notable because it was once the residence of the George Fisher family. Fisher was a well-known high school teacher and football, track and basketball coach. He also served as a state representative.
The Meck family acquired the old house seven years ago and spent several years restoring it.
The project included new plaster, new paint and carefully refurbished wood floors. White paint now makes the interior bright and cheery.
The first floor includes a dining room, living room, porch and kitchen. The kitchen has an old-style sink salvaged from the barn. The working stove is the same one used by the Fisher family.
On the second floor are two bedrooms and a bathroom that includes an old-fashioned claw-footed bathtub. A wall in the upstairs area was removed to make the second floor brighter and roomier.
The Mecks also renovated a summer kitchen and added it to the south side of the house. It now features wood floors, glass doors on the entryway and a wood-burning Amish cook stove.
Near the house is the barn, which is older than the house, dating from 1850. The barn has been renovated, too, and now has red cedar siding, new windows, a workshop and a two-vehicle garage.
• The Greek Revival-style home of Joe and Myra Sands is at 8162 N. CR 200E, Milford. The 154-year-old building is impressive and has been returned to its original luster.
In its day, this two-story house was one of the grandest in Kosciusko County. After restoration, it is again one of the most outstanding homes in the area.
The Sands bought the house in 1983, acquiring it from the estate of Ray and Grace Fervada. The Fervadas lived in the house for about 20 years. When the Sands purchased the home, it had been vacant for several years and was in poor condition.
During the restoration, the house was moved onto a new foundation and the interior and exterior walls were stripped to the wall studs.
Much of the work has been done within the past year. Now the house features hand-hewn beams of native oak and poplar, wood floors and ceilings nearly 10 feet high. It also has new windows and doors in original locations and a new roof.
The interior includes a living room, parlor, corner stairway, bedrooms on the upper floor and two chimneys - one on the front and another on the side.
The home also has two wings, one was built in about 1880 and the other was added in about 1920.
The land where the house sits was first owned by Samuel Stephenson, one of the county's first settlers. He purchased the site from the U.S. government in 1834.
• Rebecca Coplen and Dennis Meyer purchased the elegant brick home at 751 E. Fort Wayne in Warsaw, about a year and a half ago. Since then it has undergone extensive restoration and now looks very much like it did when it was built more than 140 years ago.
Located a couple of blocks east of the East Fort Wayne Street Historic District, the brick house fits in well with the stylish old homes in that area.
The handsome house, built in an Italianate architectural style, features a large dining room parlor, open stairway and a unique three-room attic over the old carriage house.
It also has new wallpaper throughout and carefully refurbished wooden floors. Three bedrooms are on the second floor; there is a full basement.
The house was built in1867 by Alfred Wilcox, who once owned much of the land in what is now the town of Winona Lake. Although Wilcox owned the house for many years, there is no record of him living there.
In 1877, the house was acquired by the John Brown family, who lived there until Brown and his wife died.
After the Browns, a family named Durham owned the house for a short time, then it was acquired by Everett Rasor, a well-known attorney and judge. Rasor and his wife occupied the house for many years. Their sons, Allen and Robert, were well-known attorneys in Warsaw.
From the Rasor family, the house passed to a family named Chapman, then to the Coplen family. Now it is an important addition to the restored homes of Warsaw.
Other sites on the Sept. 25 tour include: Tippecanoe Country Club, 7245 N. Kalorama Road, Leesburg; Mike and Jodie Hall, 3968 W. CR 600N, Clunette; and Roger and Sharon Dinkel, 823 E. Center St., Warsaw.
Tour tickets are available at the main branches of Mutual Federal, National City, Lake City and 1st Source banks, Teacher's Credit Union and the Old Jail Museum, 121 N. Indiana St., Warsaw. Costs are $10 prior to Sept. 24 and $12 the day of the tour.
