Historic homes open this weekend

It's been a long winter, but the first weekend of May brings an end to the cold weather with The Red Carpet Corridor and Swinging Bridges Festival in Pontiac.

Among many activities scheduled for the weekend throughout town, the 3 Pontiac House Museums will be reopening for the season on Saturday May 2nd. Each house will be open for free public tours from1-3pm.Members of the Livingston County Historical Society, who staff each of the homes have spent the winter adding some new features in each of them so even if you have been through them before there be some new sights.

The Jones House, at 301 E. Madison St. is Pontiac's oldest brick home, built in 1857. In it's heyday the home was owned and occupied by several of Pontiac's leading families of the day. Restored, it now is on The National Register of Historic Places. It features a brand new exhibit of hand painted items by The Woodrow Sisters of Pontiac. They were nationally famous for their high quality china and ceramic painted items in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

The Jason Strevell House at 401 W. Livingston St. highlights Pontiac's connection to Abraham Lincoln who visited the home in early 1860. A new upstairs exhibit honors Pontiac native Thomas Googerty He was instrumental in wrought iron working. The exhibit features recreations of some of his creations plus some of his paintings as well.

The Catherine V. Yost House at 298 W. Water St. features a number of paintings by the Pontiac native. Plus the 1898 Queen Anne Victorian home features only items owned by Catherine, her parents and siblings. Over the winter volunteers raided the attic and brought out a new selection of paintings. Plus a selection of photographs, previously undisplayed was brought out. There are many pictures of the house through the years, family members and views of Pontiac. Also of interest is a picture of William Jennings Bryan as he spoke to 3500 people in Pontiac 130 years ago.

It's a great weekend to kickoff the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, enjoy all Pontiac has to offer and learn a bit of history as well. All tours are always free and no registration is required.