Should the John A. Freeman Home be torn down or restored? That was the question in 1993. It was one of the few historic homes on Snowflake’s Main Street and many felt that the home could be saved.
A grant for $8,000 was obtained from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to make an assessment of the home. There was a lot of criticism when the town sought and received an $80,000 Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) grant to restore the home. The town needed $20,000 in matching funds to qualify.
In 1993 the Snowflake Heritage Foundation and the town began working together to restore the 1893 Gothic Revival architecture home made with locally fired brick.
Beulah Stratton headed a committee to raise the $20,000, organizing mostly with Freeman relatives. This group is still active and conducting family projects to help maintain the home.
Fred and Viola Adams owned the home and in 1997 they deeded the home to the town to enable it to apply for grants.
On Oct. 10, 1998, the home was dedicated and open for tours.
Freeman was one of the early settlers in Snowflake, arriving in 1879. He built the home in 1893 and had lived in it for 60 years when he died at the age of 92 in 1952.
He was civic leader in Snowflake and a prominent business leader, serving in the House of Representatives in 1923 and on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors. He also was Justice of the Peace and a member of the Highway Commission. He was administrator of the Arizona Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ACMI) store until it closed in 1933.
On Friday, July 24, the historic homes will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again on Saturday, July 25, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. There is no admission fee. The home can be toured daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tours begin at the Stinson Museum at 102 N. First East.
