Apalachicola Home and Garden Tour marks 30 years
The Porter House, a Queen Anne-style home built around 1901, highlights the Historic Apalachicola Home and Garden Tour Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Now in its 30th year, the annual event hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church, 76 Sixth Street, showcases some of the town’s most distinguished homes, both old and new.
“The tour offers a visual reflection of our community’s heritage creating a distinct sense of place unlike any other,” said Sabrina Fornes, a seventh-generation Apalachicolan whose great-great-grandfather was the lighthouse keeper at Cape St. George.
Seven homes, the City Square Community Garden, and Trinity Church are featured.
The featured home was built of heart pine and cypress by Richard Gibbs Porter, Jr., who along with his wife Steppie, raised three children, sons Richard II and Ned, the latter who went on to pitch for the New York Giants; and daughter Emily, who became an educator like her mom and taught at the Chapman School for over 30 years.
The current owners Connie and George Wilkerson continued the restoration work done by previous owners Lynn Wilson and Bill Spohrer.
Also featured on the tour this year are:
- Collins-Lovett House, which dates back to 1892, built by Rudolph Collins on the site of the former county jail. In 1918, John Patrick Lovett acquired the stately Queen Anne-style home, and it remained in the family for 50 years. The house underwent a complete renovation in 2000 and is now owned by Jim Berry and Kate Rogers Berry, who is the daughter of the late William Warren Rogers, a Florida State University professor who authored the definitive history of Apalachicola and St. George Island.
- Edwards Home, which was built in 2021 for Tom and Rennie Edwards, who are active members of Trinity Episcopal Church. The home features a wealth of family heirlooms and works by a respected Alabama artist.
- Pierce Home. a Classic Revival-style house believed to be part of officer’s quarters built during World War II at the Apalachicola Army Field and later moved to town. The house was renovated by Alan Pierce, the former county planner and Apalachicola mayor, and he now lives there.
- McCartney Home, a coastal cottage designed by Patti and Bill McCartney and built two years ago by Gary Ulrich Construction. In addition to family antiques and artwork, the McCartneys selected and added over 150 plants to the landscaping.
- Tobiason Home, a Queen Anne cottage restored by Laurel and Erik Tobiason. In addition to structural changes, the home now displays Laurel’s photographs, as well her watercolor, ink and tissue paper collages.
- Isaiah Abrams House, residence of Meghan Davis, restored by LaRaela Lee Coxwell and Glen Coxwell. The house was built in 1926 by an African American carpenter using heart pine and cy[press from the local mill.
- Apalachicola City Square Community Garden
The open-to-all silent auction, along with a jumble sale offering items at $25 or less, takes place on the church grounds beginning at 9 a.m.
A choral Evensong, the traditional opening for the tour, occurs Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. A reception in Gorrie Square follows the service.
Proceeds benefit the preservation and maintenance of Trinity’s historic structures with a portion directed to assist in meeting the needs of Franklin County through the Outreach Ministry of Trinity.
Apalachicola’s historic district is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Dating from before the Civil War, with continued importance well into the 20th century, Apalachicola is considered the best-preserved city on the Gulf of Mexico.
Visit apalachicolahometour.org for information and to purchase tickets. Advance tickets are $30; day-of-tour tickets may be purchased for $35 on the church grounds beginning at 9 a.m. For more info, email tour@trinityapalachicola.org
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.