The doors to several historic homes, buildings and churches in Marion will soon be open to visitors for the annual Historic Home Tour.

Kay Beckett, president of the Perry County Historical and Preservation Society, said the tour is a great chance to share some of the town’s most historic and beautiful homes to people from all over the state.

“It’s a special opportunity that we have once a year, and there is just nothing like it because we have a chance to show off our history and our very wonderful, generous people of Perry County who open their homes and open their churches,” she said. “It’s a really special time when Perry County opens its doors.”

There are eight different stops on this year’s tour, which is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 4. Guests will get to see the Roselane home, St. Wilfrid’s Church, the Howell-McCorquodale home, Kenworthy Hall, First Congregational Church, Phillips Memorial Auditorium, the Davis-Hartley-Nichols home and the Donavan Inn.

“We’ll have everything from a home that is just in the beginning stages of renovation … to things that are completely redone and gussied up for Christmas,” she said. “We’ll have every extreme on the tour.

Beckett said some of the homes will be decorated for Christmas.

“We’re showcasing history and of course the holiday season. Some of our homes are going to be decorated for the holidays, and some will be a study in history,” she said. “Every house will not be decked out in holiday attire. Some will be, but some will be a study in history and architecture.”

One of the stops Beckett is most excited about this year is Kenworthy Hall, which was featured in Kathryn Tucker Windham’s “13 Ghosts of Alabama.” The home was built in 1860.

She is also excited about showing off the Phillips Memorial Auditorium and the First Congregational Church, which were on the campus of Lincoln Normal School, a historic African American school established in 1867 by freed slaves.

“We have an opportunity to visit the main building on that campus and the church that was built associated with that,” she said.

The tour will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will end at 5 p.m. Guests can start the tour at any of the homes, but the Marion Female Seminary is the tour headquarters, where there will be handmade items from local artists like Charlie “Tinman” Lucas on sale. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and free for children 12 and under. For more information, call 292-0319.