Entry #5: The Hope House

anitazachary
Jan 31
3 min read

Yesterday, I was organizing my desk when I came across a flyer that proclaimed: 'Christmas Open House: December 8th, 2024'.

A pamphlet for the Christmas Open House on December 8th, 2024, for the Hope House/Mansion. It decries live music, carriage & wagon rides, as well as a craft fair and hot apple cider. This pamphlet is laying on a marble table, and shows a peek of a silver tray in the right corner.

And it reminded me of a wonderful day, where my family and I went to Windsor, North Carolina, to visit the Historic Hope House (and accompanying outbuildings) and King-Bazemore House.

My daughter and I have visited the Hope House once before, in June of 2018 (to celebrate Jordan's birthday), and the house was breathtaking even in the sweltering heat. We rolled into the Roanoke-Chowan Heritage Center already sweating, to meet our very friendly guide and buy our tickets; surprisingly, no one else was there. When the time for our tour arrived, we were still the only ones in attendance!

OH MY GOSH!

I looked at my daughter and could see she was trying to hold in her excitement, like me. We had the docent - and the whole house - all to ourselves!

The front of an 18th Century home called The Hope House. A blonde woman sits on the front steps in a deep blue dress, with her arms out to the sides. — The Hope House (and Jordan), June 2018

Now, we have visited almost every historic site in North Carolina, and that has never happened before or since - ever! We both did a happy dance!

On this once-in-a-lifetime tour, our sweet docent told us all about how at Christmas, the Hope House would be fancied up in period decorations, with candlelight tours available as well. We decided then-and-there that we would be visiting again come Christmas. We just knew we had to!

And then...life got in the way. Between both schools my daughter was doing, the graduate school my husband was attending, the pandemic, and everything in-between, we didn't make it over to the Hope House's Christmas festival until this past year - 2024 - a full seven years since our first visit.

The backside of the Historic Hope House, decorated in Christmas wreaths and framed by trees above and to the right of it. On the left side is the fully preserved kitchen. — Backside of The Hope House, December 2024

A picture of the 17th century King-Bazemore house in the afternoon sun. There is a forested area behind it, and a car park with a silver car next to it. — The King-Bazemore House, December 2024

The Hope House was all dressed up for the party, wearing beautiful garlands of magnolia leaves. Flowers, candles, and fruit arrangements were sprinkled all around, adding to the magical atmosphere.

A wreath made of pine boughs, hung with pinecones and dried oranges and some kind of red fruit. Feathers poke out of the top of it.

The house itself buzzed with over 30 volunteers, some of which were in period dress; most of which were stationed in their own room in the house, reciting the history of it to an ever-changing group of visitors.

Greenery sitting above the transom window - which is decorated by LED candles - to the back door of the Hope House. The door and trim are painted the original yellow.

Walking into the foyer of the Hope House, an archway sports greenery and a large hanging ball of greenery. Beneath it is a period couch, as well as a spinning wheel where a woman in period garb cards cotton. The floor is checkerboard and two people stand to watch her.

A furniture secretary/desk that is original to the Hope House. It is decorated with greenery, books, candles, and old paper.

(The majority of the furniture is original to the house, on loan from the family)

The ballroom was alive with live music and volunteer dancers, teaching a bustling crowd of visitors how to dance, and occasionally pulling them in to join! Me and my two left feet decided it was a good time to check out the library, which is our favorite part of the Hope House.

A picture of one wall in the Hope House's library. Grey painted cabinets reaching from floor to ceiling hold books, taxidermy, and peeling paper. The doors of the cabinets are made with the original glass, some are open and some are closed. A wooden ladder leans against the shelves.

A close up picture of the open cabinet doors in the library, showing off the Hope House's original books (mainly court documents) which was the largest private library in the state. The books are a deep brown with gold lettering.

Beyond the beauty of it, the library is original. All of the books, the taxidermy, the glass inside the doors - original. Behind the previous owner's books, you can see the deeply cracked paint, which I think is stunning. The whole room gave my daughter and I goosebumps.

A close up picture of some of the law books on display - all supreme court reports - leather bound. You can see the cracks in the papered backing more clearly.

From many years of visiting historic homes, we've found that we get the most enjoyment out of viewing homes that are Preserved, instead of Restored; because you can just feel the authenticity. Which is what the Hope House has done, thankfully!

In all, it was an absolutely magical day of horse drawn carriage rides, hot apple cider, a local artesian craft fair, and beautiful history. I did come home with three accordion folded stars made of old sheet music, and Jordan bought a pearl necklace.

If we can swing our schedule, we'll go back for this year's Christmas Open House, too! It normally takes place the first weekend in December, but check out: https://historichope.org/ for specific details about times, tours, and membership!