Natchez &8212; One new and two historic Natchez houses will be open to the public Dec. 4, 2 to 5 p.m., to benefit the public library.

The homes of Joe Stone, Glen and Bridget Green and Braxton and Carol Hobdy will provide distinctive touring experiences, as visitors travel from Washington Street to Main Street to Cemetery Road on a Sunday afternoon tour that has become an essential for many in Natchez to begin the Christmas season.

Friends of the Library sponsor the tour to benefit the Armstrong Library. Tickets are $10 each and are available at the library or at the homes on the day of the tour.

&8220;Someone described our house as Cape Cod meeting the South,&8221; said Braxton Hobdy, describing the new house he and his wife, Carol, completed recently at 140 Cemetery Road.

&8220;It has cedar shake on the outside, but it has a long porch on the front and back,&8221; he said. &8220;In fact, we have almost as much square feet in porch as inside the house.&8221;

Taking the old-time dog-trot house as its model, the Hobdy house features a breezeway that cuts through the middle of the house.

Built with a view of the Mississippi River second to none, the house is a success for them, Hobdy said.

On the south side of town, Joe Stone lives in the home purchased by his great-grandparents, Joseph Newman Stone and Theodora Britton, in 1877.

In 1999, he began restoration of the house, where he operates a bed-and-breakfast establishment and a gallery displaying his collection of rare maps, prints and books as well as pottery by George Ohr, Newcomb College and Native American artists.

Stone&8217;s restoration efforts led to his receiving the 2003 Historic Natchez Foundation Restoration Award.

The interesting history of the house at 804 Washington St. begins about 1850, when the oldest part was constructed as a luxurious one-room billiard hall, Stone said.

&8220;Built in the style of a one-story Greek Revival temple, the billiard hall stood on the grounds of The Elms, David Stanton&8217;s home, and was later expanded into a Greek Revival style house by the Stanton family.&8221;

When Washington Street was extended east of Pine Street in the 1890s, the Stone House became separated from The Elms property.

Glen and Bridget Green left a comfortable modern house in the Beau Pre Country Club area to move into the house called Beaumont, built in 1830 by Andrew Brown.

&8220;We like it downtown. It has been a change, though,&8221; Bridget Green said.

The Greens purchased the house at 815 Main St. in the spring of 2005 from the Robert Wood family. After much research, they began the restoration that continues today.

One of the most visible changes to the house in the restoration to date has been the return of the front gallery. &8220;The front fa?ade was recreated after excavation of the original porch footings,&8221; Bridget Green said.

Franklin Beaumont purchased the house and lived in it from 1832 to 1842. Many other families subsequently lived there.