SCOTT CITY HISTORIC HOME TOUR IS SUNDAY

SCOTT CITY -- A tour of historic homes in the Scott City area will be held Sunday from 1-5 p.m., sponsored by the Scott City Historic Preservation Commission.

Tickets for the tour, which includes five houses, cost $5 and will be available at any of the houses on the day of the tour.

Pen and ink drawings of the houses by Scott City artist Bill Davis Sr. also will be available, along with brochures with information about each house.

Refreshments will be provided for those participating in the tour.

Eisleben Lutheran Church, 432 Lutheran Lane, was built in 1913 and is the second structure built on this site. The church was renovated in 1951 and again in 1981.

The name Eisleben was taken from the town in Germany of the same name where Martin Luther was born and died. Records date to 1848, and the church was organized in 1851.

The first church was built of pure brown sandstone taken locally from the Mississippi River bluffs. It was called the Rock Church. The rocks from the original walls were used for the foundation of the present church.

The first English sermon of record was 1895, and in 1902 the congregation began having English services once a month.

The Otto Layne House, 1015 Second Street East, was built circa 1913 as part of what was known as Lightner's addition to Illmo. J.P. and Rosa Lee Lightner and J.J. and Coda Mae Craig sold the property to Otto and Sallye Layne for $1,000.

Ronald N. and Gloria Schumer now own the house. The home features the original windows, doors and woodwork. The beveled glass on the front door, copper and brass light fixtures and original kitchen cabinets all reveal the home's heritage.

The original house had a staircase leading to the attic, where the space now is used as a walk-through closet from both bedrooms. Also, a half bath has been added on the back porch, and dividers between the living and dining rooms were removed to enlarge the area.

Ball and knob wiring still is used in much of the house. The home was raised at some time to dig a walk-out basement that includes an inside cistern.

The Proffer House, 100 Jefferson, is an eight-room brick house built in 1914 by Emil Steck for his bride, Gretta.

She died soon after their wedding, and Steck sold the house to Dr. William Hutton in 1920. Dr. Hutton and his son, William, drowned in the Mississippi River in 1922, and his widow sold the house in 1926 to the Franklin Hanks family.

Bill and Elsie Proffer bought the house in 1959. Last year, Leo and Angie Beauchamp bought the house. The Beauchamps have done extensive renovation to the house, returning it almost completely to the original structure.

There is a beveled glass window in the dining room, a maid's staircase on the north side, and a widow's walk over the front porch. The house has two fireplaces, and steam radiators remain in use.

The Proffer House is considered on of the finest historic homes in the area.

The Dode Bollinger House, 600 Fifth, was built by Dode and Laura Bollinger in 1935. Four families have lived in the home since, and the present owners are Bill and Brenda Morris.

There are eight rooms and three baths in the house. The chandeliers in the downstairs living room and dining room are original to the house. The wood molding and the doors throughout the house are oak.

The doors likely came from one of the old Illmo hotels that was torn down when the house was built. The Morris family has refinished the oak floors and the fireplace.

The Charles Holladay House, 510 Scott, is a seven-room, two-story frame house that was built sometime around 1909 by Charles V. Holladay.

The Holladays lived in the house until 1929, when it was sold to Henry and Anna Uelsmann. Paul and Martha Bratton bought the house in 1944 and sold it to R.T. Hughes in 1948.

The home later was owned by Monroe Wheeler, and in 1966 Jerome and Letty Bradshaw bought it. The present owners, Maurice and Nellie Proffer, bought the house in 1968.

Most of the walls and ceilings are original, as is the woodwork. There are two original stained-glass windows and an original light fixture in the house.