Presented by the Bisbee Woman’s Club, the event raises money for local charities, like the Boys & Girls Club of Bisbee, said Cathy Ruhfel, woman’s club member and tour docent.
One of the homes on the tour, located at 301 Cole Ave., was built in 1904 for Dr. Francis Shine, a surgeon, by the Copper Queen Mining Co., said Christine Rhodes, another tour docent.
  
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The home was two stories tall and featured wood paneled floors, a claw foot bathtub and was once home to a former Bisbee mayor.
“The last owner of the house before the current owner was the Schissler family,” Rhodes said. John “Jack” Schissler is a former mayor of Bisbee.
Another home on the tour, and the first ever to be included from South Bisbee, according to Rhodes, was found down a dirt road atop a hill.
From the outside, the house being rented by local artist Robert Smiley, located at 526 Encanto Ave., looks much more like the miner’s shack it originated was than a fully functional modern home.
Built in 1906, the house is covered in gray wood paneling, which makes it looks like a cottage. In the three and a half years Smiley has rented the place, he has done extensive landscaping to the backyard, carving out the hillside to create areas for gardens and tables, as well as an area for a small studio for him to practice his craft, with paths connecting it all.
“I’m partial to the seclusion, the quiet,” Smiley said of the remoteness of the home.
Inside, wooden fixtures dominate the kitchen area, while the walls and corners are decorated with the work of more than 45 different local artists.
“I like to support local art,” he said.
Back in the Warren district, owners Kevin and Carrie Mitten welcome guests into their house at 608 Hovland St.
Only the second owners of the home since its construction in 1939, the Mittens also have mining rights to the property, something they say is quite rare. The double lot area leaves them with enough space for a fenced-in backyard, which is home to some very vocal geese.
“I like the fact that we left it original,” Carrie Mitten said. “I sort of feel like we moved to Mayberry.”
Many of the homes on the tour are very close to the original structures built near the turn of the 20th century, but some people prefer a more modern living space.
When Paul Blunt bought his house at 209 W. Vista St. in 1998, he nearly started from scratch.
“I basically gutted the house entirely and added 800 square feet,” Blunt said. “This house was taken down to floor studs and wall studs.”
The home was originally built in 1914, and other than a few glaring exceptions, such as the state-of-the-art, sound-proof entertainment center situated in one corner room of the house, it is very similar to the original look.
“Everything you see is brand-new, 21st century technology, but it was built to appear as a 100-year-old house would appear if it were brand new,” he said.
The windows of the home, for example, are replicas of the originals, but made with three panes of glass for high insulation, he said.
“The house is insulated on all four sides, so it uses very little energy, from the hottest of summers to the coldest of winters,” he said.
Other homes on the tour were located at 48 Shearer Ave., 44 Howell Ave., 201 W. Vista St., 412 E. Vista St., 512 E. Vista St. and 303 A St.
Herald/Review reporter Derek Jordan can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at derek.jordan@svherald.com.
