I last left off detailing the history of the home we own. Most owners of old homes also happen to love history. The thrill of the history helps to soothe the agony of owning an old (rickety) house. Believe me, my love for history is hanging on a thread here.
The last private owner of our 1855 Greek Revival house (until we bought it in 1997) was John and Elizabeth Jones. They were an older couple. John Jones was a bit of a handyman. I know he did lots of projects, because his old home improvement debris burps up from the yard every spring, after the frost heave of the winter. We never know what we are going to find when we start digging a new flowerbed. Haven’t found a golden dubloon yet, though…
Anyway, Mrs. Jones died first. John continued to live in the house. He sold a small portion of the 1 and 1/2 acre to the neighboring United Methodist Church, so that the church might enlarge their parking lot. I won’t delve into all the water run-off problems that has caused since….
In the 1950s, Jones sold the rest of the property to the church, to use as a parsonage. The house has seen a number of transient ministers. The Methodists poured concrete into the basement floor, installed a sump well, and rebuilt the exterior end of the chimney with cinderblocks. In 1972 or so, the house went through a 70′s remodeling (also known as “remuddling.”) I HATE the 70s. I hate the drab colors, the tiny dark windows, the Carter malaise, the cardigan sweaters, the paisley scarves, the avocado appliances, everything. What a lousy decade. People should have LEFT EVERYTHING ALONE during this time– NO remodeling until the 80s, okay?
The parson who lived here must have really liked the 70s. They went all out. Yellow linoleum (to cover the pine flooring) in all the bedrooms, gray indoor/outdoor carpeting in the Dining Room, dark brown Kitchen cabinets with yellow and brown tile vinyl flooring, yellow and brown wallpaper, a drop ceiling of fiberglass panels, fake brown paneling on the walls… you “get my drift, daddy-o.”
The church removed two of the home’s three fireplaces…. and buried most of the bricks in the yard. My husband and I joke how we can only dig 1 or 2 inches down before hitting rocks and bricks (well, he doesn’t joke about it anymore).
They also laid a huge concrete slab in the center of the side yard. It is a misshapen glob of thick concrete. Here’s the view from the second storey of the house.
(By the way, that pile of rocks are the things we pulled out of our latest dig– which was a small hole to plug in that 8″ arbor vitae plant).
Well, my husband and I bought the house from the Methodist church. The church had seen a dramatic drop in attendance, and keeping a tiny church and white elephant parsonage was too costly. I think they tried to sell the church and house as a package deal at first. No one wanted the house. A new congregation purchased the church, and we bought the house. “As is,” like I stated before.
So, homeowners of old houses must really love history to keep these money pits standing. My history lessons here have been rather expensive… but when we finally restore vitality and honor to this old Greek Revival, I think it will be for the better: for us, for the house, and for the neighborhood.
10. May 2007 at 1:13 am
Better find a solution quick before the NYS legislature gets the audacity to adopt my proposed new state flag.