No place like 'Homer' for the holidays
By Tim Gallagher, tgallagher@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Saturday, November 01, 2008
HOMER, Neb. -- Paul Culbertson walks up the stairs at the O'Connor House and hears nary a creak.
"Isn't that solid?" he asks.
Yes. Considering construction on this 14-room mansion began the year the Civil War ended. The home was completed 10 years later and has since served the O'Connor family and, lately, thousands of visitors who trek here for holiday open houses the first two weekends each November. The gala events are hosted by the Dakota County Historical Society, which purchased the brick home three miles east of Homer in the 1960s. It had been in the family for nearly a century, owned last by J. Colin and Margie Green. J. Colin was a grandson of Capt. Cornelius and Catherine (Duggan) O'Connor.
The 2008 holiday weekends take place this weekend and next.
"We've preserved this home to help preserve the history of Dakota County," says Culbertson.
This link to the county's past is rock solid, literally and figuratively. While the brick, oak and walnut floors and woodwork show the region's stability (the wood Capt. Cornelius O'Connor used for the home was cut from this land), pictures of the O'Connors' 10 children and stories of how seven of their children, as adults, died within a short period of years serves as testimony to the endurance of pioneer families.
"My favorite part is the kitchen," says Culbertson, a local farmer who has been involved with the Dakota County Historical Society for years. "This stove is the type of thing we had as kids. Every evening we had to bring in wood and cobs to burn. The family gathered in the kitchen as it was warm and the aroma of Mom's bread baking was enticing.
"We always had to make sure we didn't spill ashes on the floor," he adds.
Local businesses and individuals report here the end of October each year to decorate the home for the holidays. Culbertson's wife, Jean, a former elementary teacher not only has written a children's book about The O'Connor House, she stands here during the open houses baking dozens of gingerbread cookies for tour-goers to savor.
Three-thousand people visited the first year the Historical Society opened the home. The event now welcomes 1,200 or so, a much more manageable number for the 150 volunteers who put the celebration together.
"Having 1,200 come through on two weekends give people time to look," Culbertson says.
The open house is free. Additionally, a one-room country schoolhouse and the Dakota County Historical Museum are both on these grounds and open to the public during these times, or by appointment.
For information about the Annual Historical O'Connor House Christmas Tour, see www.dakotacountyhistoricalsociety.com
If you go
The Annual Historical O'Connor House Christmas Tour takes place Saturday, Nov. 1 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 2 and 9 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The O'Connor House is located three miles east of Homer, Neb.
List of rooms
Here is a list of rooms at The O'Connor House: Entryway, Parlor, Sitting Room, Nursery, Blue Bedroom, Yellow Bedroom, Grandma's Room, Washroom, Hall, Upstairs Hall, Master Bedroom, Boys' Room, Hired Hands' Room, Kitchen and Dining Room.
"Isn't that solid?" he asks.
Yes. Considering construction on this 14-room mansion began the year the Civil War ended. The home was completed 10 years later and has since served the O'Connor family and, lately, thousands of visitors who trek here for holiday open houses the first two weekends each November. The gala events are hosted by the Dakota County Historical Society, which purchased the brick home three miles east of Homer in the 1960s. It had been in the family for nearly a century, owned last by J. Colin and Margie Green. J. Colin was a grandson of Capt. Cornelius and Catherine (Duggan) O'Connor.
The 2008 holiday weekends take place this weekend and next.
"We've preserved this home to help preserve the history of Dakota County," says Culbertson.
This link to the county's past is rock solid, literally and figuratively. While the brick, oak and walnut floors and woodwork show the region's stability (the wood Capt. Cornelius O'Connor used for the home was cut from this land), pictures of the O'Connors' 10 children and stories of how seven of their children, as adults, died within a short period of years serves as testimony to the endurance of pioneer families.
"My favorite part is the kitchen," says Culbertson, a local farmer who has been involved with the Dakota County Historical Society for years. "This stove is the type of thing we had as kids. Every evening we had to bring in wood and cobs to burn. The family gathered in the kitchen as it was warm and the aroma of Mom's bread baking was enticing.
"We always had to make sure we didn't spill ashes on the floor," he adds.
Local businesses and individuals report here the end of October each year to decorate the home for the holidays. Culbertson's wife, Jean, a former elementary teacher not only has written a children's book about The O'Connor House, she stands here during the open houses baking dozens of gingerbread cookies for tour-goers to savor.
Three-thousand people visited the first year the Historical Society opened the home. The event now welcomes 1,200 or so, a much more manageable number for the 150 volunteers who put the celebration together.
"Having 1,200 come through on two weekends give people time to look," Culbertson says.
The open house is free. Additionally, a one-room country schoolhouse and the Dakota County Historical Museum are both on these grounds and open to the public during these times, or by appointment.
For information about the Annual Historical O'Connor House Christmas Tour, see www.dakotacountyhistoricalsociety.com
If you go
The Annual Historical O'Connor House Christmas Tour takes place Saturday, Nov. 1 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 2 and 9 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The O'Connor House is located three miles east of Homer, Neb.
List of rooms
Here is a list of rooms at The O'Connor House: Entryway, Parlor, Sitting Room, Nursery, Blue Bedroom, Yellow Bedroom, Grandma's Room, Washroom, Hall, Upstairs Hall, Master Bedroom, Boys' Room, Hired Hands' Room, Kitchen and Dining Room.
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