Wild, my Great Grandpa built his home south of there in 1904. His sister had contact and rumored romance with the director of the Weld Cnty Grange guy. I just couldn't imagine what life was like back then! She was the Adam's Cnty Grange person.
Very little has survived. You can see bands along the top of the wall, around the door, above the chair rail here where I’m working on the entryway. Upstairs there was a ballroom across the front of the house, that was later divided into three rooms. Pardon the mess, the Mrs bought secondhand cabinets for the kitchen. To the right of that first doorway is a closet, and the stenciling is preserved in it (the closet was likely added at the same time the room was divided).
The shop had a window rotting out. The window buyer mistook my “studs 24 on center” and brought home a 24”x30” rough opening window. I made it fit. I’ve also replaced the downstairs windows with some nice secondhand Andersen windows, but have the housewrap over them for now.
Slow progress. Just a week of rental left. Darn day-job. Storm door installed on new threshold. A bit of adjustment to do. Too modern for my taste, but others here like it.
Is that wall paper or stenciling? If stenciling could be worth keeping intact especially if original to the house.
My hat's off to those who restore older homes and barns. Every time I see a well maintained New England "connected house" or "Little house, big house, back house, barn" it makes me happy that those people are out there Keep at it Flamestead It's certainly a labor of love!
I feel the same, hat's off! Stinny had old farmhouse with a barn, hopefully he chimes in. The house we are in now though much newer follows a similar pattern, little house 1952, little bigger and a detached garage in the 60's. 80's was another little bit bigger house and metal pole barn. The house my ancestor built in Maiden Creek PA in ~1805 still stands and it mesmerizes me. I talked to a lady once that was living there and she said there was a heart/angel carved into one of the lower beams. You can see from google street map views it's been added onto over the centuries.
It is stenciling. Apparently there were traveling stencilers at the time (by one story I heard). Yes, we will definitely preserve these.
Hey Ms H... our old farm had an el off the main colonial section, and 2 barns with a connector section... and, way in the furthest corner from the house was the ole "2 holer". Since we sold the farm in 2007, it's been owned by 3 different owners. We are lucky to be good friends with the current owners, and have been there a couple times over the last few years. The barns are no longer connected, but one of the barns has had a total re-furbish, from a new foundation, all the way to a new roof and red barn boards. The old el has been removed and replaced new from foundation up too. Entire house looks incredible now. The first owners put at least $300k into the place. It, hopefully means, the farm will always be there, and never abandoned. We spent 13 years there, doing all the things we could afford, to keep the old place going. A. Lot. Of. Work. So fuelrod , I too love seeing old places restored and lovingly cared for... after learning a bit of what it takes. So grateful folks out there feel the same too.
This is the Maine house I grew up in. There is a fairly defined area where this type of connection was done - I live less than 150 miles away and there are no (or very, very few) of these here. My hometown historical society, on the other hand, post pictures of the old homesteads and practically every one was connected.
Yesterday was touching up window trim (do not use duct tape on vinyl trim!!) and preparing the front. We are running out of rental time so I worked from the ladder while she worked from the lift.
