The project began in the summer of 1990 when Mariel Carlisle and Hayden Hauser approached the Preservation Alliance of La Crosse with the idea for a Christmas Home Tour such as the one Winona has each year to benefit its historical society. The Preservation Alliance decided that the hours of work and number of people required to organize such an event was too much for their small organization to handle. Hayden Hauser, Sue Gelatt and Mariel Carlisle then approached James White, director of the La Crosse Public Library, about the possibility of sponsoring the tour. He and the library board agreed.

Meetings were first held at the library and later at Ms. Carlisle's home to launch the project. Six homeowners agreed to show the first floor of their home decorated for Christmas. Through a lot of hard work and planning, the first tour was a success. Over $8200 was taken in from receipts. The money raised has been put toward many different items over the years: children's furniture, a big screen TV-VCR player, and computer furniture.

The tour was a yearly tradition until the last tour on Dec. 6, 1997. When turnout was low for the 1996 and 1997 tours, the Library League raised funds by running a concession stand at the Deke Slayton Airfest, June 19-21, 1998. This was the last fundraiser sponsored by the Library League.