FORT OGLETHORPE — A handful of the century-old houses on Barnhardt Circle in Fort Oglethorpe were open for a public tour Dec. 8 and 9.

The Candlelight Tour of Homes allowed people to see an uncommon approach toward military housing, and the homes that were open displayed various degrees of renovation.

Fort Oglethorpe, named for Georgia’s founder, James Oglethorpe, was established as a U.S. Army and National Guard facility in 1904. The city of Fort Oglethorpe was established after World War II when the government decommissioned the base and sold its property to the public.

Barnhardt Circle, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has houses that are not your typical military box structures, rather they were built according to the Classical Renaissance Revival style popular at the time.

John and Paula Muina purchased 11 Barnhardt Circle just 18 months ago, but they’ve already done extensive work to their home.

Like most of the houses on the Circle, the Muina’s was designed as a duplex with living quarters to house two officers and their families.

Some of the homes have been renovated into single family dwellings, but not so the Muina’s. “To get to the other side of our house, we have to go outside,” said Paula, adding that they plan to rent out the other side of their house after remodeling is complete.

Next door at No. 13 is a home that has been completely renovated and now operates as the Captain’s Quarters Bed & Breakfast Inn.

Jim and Judy Powell bought the house a little more than three years ago from the Gilbert sisters, who established their lodging business in 1988. The Gilberts had restored the house back from being multiple apartments.

The entire first floor is connected, and the well-appointed common areas contain many artifacts from Indonesia and Thailand, where the Powells lived for seven years.

Upstairs tour guide Barbara Pulver, of Ringgold, was showing off several of the nine rooms at the inn, which true to its name housed two captains in its military days.

Around the backstretch of the Circle, 211 Barnhardt Circle is a work in progress for owner Jeff Foster. But the sawdust didn’t deter him from inviting tourists in for a sneak peek of what will be a spacious single-family home for Jeff, his wife Susan and their three children.

“This is wonderful to go through these old homes,” said Hazel Wilson, who was touring with her daughter Denise Morrow. The pair are former residents of Barnhardt Circle, having lived in three different dwellings in years past.

Next door at No. 213 is a former lieutenant’s quarters duplex, still divided, and owned by Trish and Rory Cantrell. They bought the 4,000 square-foot home in 2005, and plan to sell it after they finish renovations.

Trish showed off some of the beautiful original designs in the house, such as a tiger maple mantle with a porcelain and marble fireplace base.

“It’s not what you’d likely expect in a military facility,” she said.

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