Deck the Halls

Long before the advent of icicle string lights and inflatable snowmen, holiday decorations brightened even the humblest of log cabins. Celebrate the season—and connect with our region’s roots—at these historic residences around Southern Appalachia.

Ramsey House • Knoxville, Tennessee

Most of the year, Knoxville’s historic Ramsey House is known for its pink (marble) and blue (limestone). Each December, though, Knox County’s first stone home—and one of its finest—looks to festive reds and greens for special holiday events including a Christmas dinner (December 4 to 8, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., fee applies), natural wreath-making workshop (December 12, noon to 3 p.m., fee applies), and candlelight tour (December 13, 6 to 8 p.m., donations accepted). Throughout the season, natural greens and colorful fruits and vegetables adorn the 1797 residence in the style of Col. Francis A. Ramsey and his family. ramseyhouse.org. 

Mabry-Hazen House • Knoxville, Tennessee

Built in 1858 atop the highest hill outside downtown Knoxville, this family home offers sweeping views and proved strategic for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. Three generations of the Mabry-Hazen family lived here from 1865 to 1987, leaving one of the country’s largest family collections of china, silver, crystal, and antique furnishings. Annual Christmas tours feature holiday embellishments by well-known Knoxville decorators and light refreshments (5 to 8 p.m. on December 12 and 2 to 5 p.m. on December 13). mabryhazen.com. 

Carter Mansion • Elizabethton, Tennessee

Built in the 1770s along the Watauga River, the Carter Mansion takes the title of Tennessee’s oldest frame house. Unlike the primitive log cabins of the frontier, the mansion features hand-carved panels, crown molding, decorative chair rails, and even landscape paintings above two of the fireplaces. December 4 and 5 at 6 p.m., the Carter Mansion hosts guests for candlelit evenings complete with holiday greenery, music, refreshments, and historic interpreters acting out scenes from an 18th-century Christmas. Reservations required. tnstateparks.com/parks/events/    sycamore-shoals. 

Cravens House • Lookout Mountain, Tennessee

Ever wonder what Christmas looked like during the Civil War? Tennessee’s Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites visitors to experience the holiday at the historic Cravens House. From its perch halfway up Lookout Mountain, the opulent 19th-century home became a wartime observation post and headquarters for both Union and Confederate armies. Period-appropriate decorations set the scene for holiday tours leaving every half hour (December 4 and 5, 6 to 8 p.m., reservations required), which will reveal the hardships facing soldiers and their families on both sides following the battles for Chattanooga in 1862 and 1863. nps.gov/chch. 

Chief Vann Historic Site • Chatsworth, Georgia

In 1805, Cherokee Chief James Vann invited Moravian missionaries into his newly built, elegant brick mansion, Spring Place, to celebrate Christmas together—marking the first time the Cherokee Nation recognized the Christian holiday. The meticulously preserved Chief Vann House Historic Site in North Georgia continues the custom with a candlelit tour this December 11 and 12 (5 to 9 p.m.). Visitors discover traditional decorations such as multi-pointed stars (to symbolize the Moravian belief that God is everywhere), historic interpretation by park rangers and volunteers, and harp music on the main floor. gastateparks.org/chiefvannhouse. 

Hardman Farm • Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia 

Georgia’s newest state-designated historic site, Hardman Farm, has long been a local landmark for its iconic red-roofed gazebo topping an Indian mound and cow pasture. Located in historic Sautee Nacoochee just south of Helen, the 1870-built home typifies Italianate architecture with a grand parlor, original lighting, and early telephone and climate control system. Though it was named for its famous 20th-century resident, the two-term governor Lamartine G. Hardman, the only full-time residents of the home were Civil War Col. James H. Nichols (known as Captain Nichols), who built the farmhouse in 1870, and his family. Christmastime evokes the life and times of the Nichols family with late 19th-century decorations. Guided tours available at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays; reservations suggested. Children can discover the origins of Appalachian holiday traditions (crafts, foods, stories, and music) during a three-day heritage holiday camp (December 21 to 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., fees apply). gastateparks.org/hardmanfarm. 

Historic Carson House • Marion, North Carolina

Col. John Carson, an Irish immigrant from Ulster Province, emerged as a leader of Western North Carolina’s Catawba Valley after growing his fortunes as a plantation owner. The Historic Carson House dates to 1793 and once served as the seat of county government. Throughout the years, notable guests included David Crockett, Sam Houston, and Andrew Jackson. A late Civil War skirmish here plundered the home, but today the restored home is adorned with period furnishings, ornaments, and textiles. Christmas candlelight tours will take place December 5 and 6 (6 to 8 p.m.). historiccarsonhouse.com. 

Biltmore Estate • Asheville, North Carolina

It should come as no surprise that at America’s largest private home, holiday revelry takes on monumental proportions. Out front, a 55-foot-tall Norway spruce tree bedazzles guests with 45,000 tiny white lights and hundreds of surrounding luminaries lit by hand. Inside, thousands of ornaments, lavish wreaths, and miles of garlands provide sensory overload throughout the 250-room house, centered on the seven-story-high Banquet Hall where a 34-foot-tall Fraser Fir tree holds court (provided by the family-owned Andrews Nursery in Newland since 1975). 

The annual Christmas spectacle began with George Vanderbilt himself, who opened the Biltmore Estate to friends and family for the first time on Christmas Eve, 1895. Visitors can experience the house in its daytime “Gilded Age Christmas” splendor from November 6 through January 10, with candlelight evening tours offered November 6 through January 2. Special seasonal events include daily seminars on holiday wreaths and table-setting, poinsettia displays in the Conservatory, and visits with Santa and holiday carolers in Antler Hill Village. December 17 to 19, the Inn on Biltmore Estate hosts its annual gingerbread house tea (reservations required). biltmore.com/christmas. 

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site • Flat Rock, North Carolina 

“America’s poet” Carl Sandburg lived his final 22 years at Connemara, his family’s sprawling estate just south of Hendersonville. In addition to the family’s home, visitors can explore more than five miles of hiking trails and Mrs. Sandburg’s prized goat farm. This year during Christmas at Connemara (November 28 and December 19), dulcimer and harp music will resound from the living room, with guests invited to pull up a chair or wander through the home. Craft activities, holiday decorations, and more music will fill the other rooms, which have been cleared of Sandburg belongings as part of a three-year preservation project. At 11:30 a.m. on December 19, accomplished storyteller Becky Stone will share traditional African-American holiday stories and songs accompanied by guitar, alongside warm cider and cookies. nps.gov/carl.

Smith-McDowell House • Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville’s first brick mansion—and oldest surviving dwelling—offers a glimpse at antebellum life in the 19th century. Now the History Center at Smith-McDowell House on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, the four-story manse gets decked out for the holiday season with Christmas trees, garlands, ornaments, and toys of the Victorian era, with six rooms done up in gold, silver, and glassware from the museum’s holdings. Holiday home tours run Wednesday through Saturday, November 18 through January 3 ($9). New this year is an hour-long guided Twilight Christmas Tour to be held December 3 and 4 (6 to 9 p.m., $25, reservation required). wnchistory.org. 

Vance Birthplace • Weaverville, North Carolina

The legendary Zebulon Baird Vance—Civil War officer, North Carolina governor, and U.S. senator—comes alive at his farmstead birthplace in the Reems Creek Valley. The five-room log house and its outbuildings (including a corn crib, smokehouse, slave house, and loom house) feature furnishings from 1795 to 1840. On December 5, the historic site hosts an 1830s-era Christmas, complete with native greenery and costumed interpreters. Tours take place from 4 to 8 p.m. ($3). nchistoricsites.org/vance.

Neighborhood Home Tours

In Knoxville, the historic Old North neighborhood—a “streetcar suburb” of Queen Anne, Craftsman, Neoclassical Revival, and American Four-Square homes—swings open its doors for merry-making during the 27th annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour. Candlelight tours are offered from 4 to 9 p.m. on December 5; afternoon tours run from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on December 6. Tickets cost $15 ($10 seniors, 12 and under free). Likewise, during the annual self-guided Montford Home Tour, Asheville’s oldest neighborhood decks the halls of its Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Greek Revival, and Dutch Colonial homes (built in the period from the 1890s to 1920s). Celebrating its 20th year this December 12, the neighborly event typically includes holiday foods, drinks, music, and other entertainment. The $20 ticket includes a map and information about included homes.