Photo by Sabrina Pankratz Visitors in the living room of Dr. Mary Hagen’s home discussed what they liked about the home.

MARSHALL — With the oldest home dating back to 1880, the Holiday Home Tour ,hosted by the Lyon County Historical Society, brought many viewers.

“Everyone’s been so nice, it’s been so nice to hear people’s compliments, and everyone seems to appreciate it. We love being in the country and the yard and space that we do, it’s cozy,” said Raftyn Rignell, the homeowner of the traditional farmhouse on Minnesota Highway 23.

According to Rignell, the farmhouse was built in 1880 and was known as the “scrapbooking house.”

“It was such an old house, and to be able to keep that old character in to the updates was really important to us. So wanted to it still have some character and some old feel to it. That part was really a really fun challenge to try to make sure we kept some of the history of the house intact,” Rignell said.

Rignell said that the main construction of the house took two months before they could move in, other remodeling to the home has been done over the course of the five years they have lived in the home.

“We were looking to move because we were growing out of our previous space, we have three kids, we needed more space. My husband’s business needed kind of an outbuilding to run his business out of,” Rignell said.

Steven Smisek, the owner of the home built in 1906 on Walnut Street, said his home is a project home.

“I just finished these two rooms, but I love the colors, I love all the wood work I did to make it look like it was old. I love my furniture from my grandparents and Habitat for Humanity. I don’t buy new stuff. I buy old stuff and redo it,” Smisek said.

“I grew up watching ‘This Old House.’ My dad was always building stuff. He taught me a lot about wiring and building,” Smisek said.

“It’s a phenomenal space,” said Roberta Wyatt, a friend of Smisek.

Stu and Barb Zick’s home was built in 1937 on West Marshall Street, that they renovated while keeping original features of the home.

“We decided to put our home on the tour for several reasons. We love the Marshall community and were so glad to move back to town after being gone 12 years. This small home is a big change for us and a perfect size for two,” Barb Zick said.

“Our favorite aspect of the home is its location, its beautiful trees. We love being across the street from the park. We so enjoy the dog walkers and families with kids on the play equipment and all the community events. We feel very connected to Marshall and we are lucky to be so close to downtown,” Zick said.

Dr. Mary Hagen’s house on Park Avenue was also part of the tour.

“I love decorating and love throwing parties. The historical society actually asked me the first year I moved in. The first year I moved in the carpets had all been ripped out, and I had bare floors with nails coming out of them. It was all decorated in the ’90s colors,” said Hagen.

Hagen took ownership in 2014 and renovated the interior. Carpets were removed, woodwork was refinished, the entire house was repainted, and many more updates were made to the home.

“(My favorite part is) truthfully upstairs, there is a little door, that is the laundry chute. I call it my little elf door. It’s just adorable,” said Hagen.

Following the home tours, many were encouraged to go to the Lyon County Historical Museum for refreshments, the Christmas Tree Walk and Heritage Room Christmas Display.