Former Oxford resident Patty Williams Hill. opened her historic 100-year-old home in Talladega to members and guests of the Major General Patrick R. Cleburne United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter for a Christmas tea on Saturday, December 8. Ladies arriving between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. were invited by Ann Norton of Oxford and Carolyn Skinner of Heflin to sign the guest book.

Attendees from Oxford included Jo Howard, Camellia Cooper, Sandra Trego, Martha Lewis, Stephanie Bain and Ann Norton.

Many of the guests who attended the UDC Chapter Tea are members of the Andrew Jackson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Other guests included Alabama UDC Honorary President Judy Blackwell and Alabama UDC Corresponding Secretary Linda Edwards from Decatur as well as Alabama UDC Assistant Registrar Martha Young and Letitia Ross District Director Mary Potts from Roanoke.

For the event, festive Christmas decorations filled every room with color and cheer. The dining room offered a variety of party refreshments. Iris Knight, a friend of Patty Hill, played Christmas music on the grand piano throughout the afternoon.

Built in 1912 and located in the Historic Silk Stocking District of Talladega, the Hill’s home is known as the Browne-Elliott Mansion, originally built for Judge and Mrs. Cecil Browne.

Judge Browne was an Alabama State Legislator for several terms and was a representative at the Constitutional Convention of 1901.

The neo-classical house was designed by Frank Lockwood who was considered by historians to be one of the most accomplished architects in Alabama in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. One of Lockwood’s most notable projects was his design for an addition to the Alabama State Capitol in 1905.

The historic home was the perfect setting for a ladies’ Tea during the Christmas holiday season.