Maplecroft

Bronte · Post by **Bronte** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:55 pm

I need the actual street address for Maplecroft was all over the place and still could not locate it..I must admit that I wasn't expecting the house on 92nd street to be so overtaken with the city.My first thoughts when I saw it was wow! I wonder how Mr.Borden would respond to all of this?such a shame if you wasn't aware that it was the Borden house you would drive on by without giving it a second glance.I am a very determined person that's why I did not ask for directions and spent so much time going in circles even ending up down at the water lol anyhoo thanks for such an amazing and informative forum about Lizzie and the Borden's.I betcha next time I will locate Maplecroft with or without directions ..

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:37 pm

I haven't been to Fall River, but from the recent pictures of 92 Second Street, I have to agree with you. It's unfortunate that the area lost so much of the original surroundings.

The address for Maplecroft is: 306 French St.

Bronte · Post by **Bronte** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:43 pm

I have another question is the farm in Swansea still there? I was shocked at the distance from Fall River to Swansea I bet that was a ride if you went on horse back or carriage..I fell in love with Fall River the houses up on the hill section are beautiful the only thing that I kept thinking was how on earth do they get around up here during the winter.

Curryong · Post by **Curryong** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 4:12 pm

I believe the farm at Swansea is still there. Lovely rolling countryside. I think Anthony posted some photos of the farmland last year. I have seen photos of the farmhouse but I don't know how old they were. Why not send Mbhenty a private message asking about Maplecroft? Mb knows all about the Fall River district.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:20 am

Thanks for the heads up Curry!

Not so sure about "Rolling Countryside"

Of course it's all stackable suburbia today. Any hint that a farm ever existed is all gone. Also peculiar is that the stone walls you usually see between fields are gone. It has been that way for some time. The house is on Gardner's Neck Road, in the 12 hundred block. (1205?) The ride from Second Street in Fall River to the Swansea farm was just under 5 miles one way—probably 30 to 35 minute ride or less by buggy.

Below is a photo of the Borden Farm house. The blue siding was taken a couple of years ago, and the white about 10.

On the map below you can see an aerial view. In the center of the photo look for the word "Road". (click on it to make it bigger) The farm house is the building just to the left—with the tan roof and a barn with the same.

Yes, except for the house and barn, the farm itself is no longer.

Second Street was not any less congested in 1892 than it is today, as far as buildings are concerned. They are just taller and bigger today with more traffic.

As for Maplecroft, the address is 306 French street.

Curryong · Post by **Curryong** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:25 pm

That surprises me, mb. I'm sure that last year on a thread where the Swansea farm was being discussed, Anthony posted a couple of photos from a visit to the area made by friends. It showed some nice countryside. Perhaps it was the other Swansea farm, who knows??

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:59 pm

Let me say this before I say that.

I stand corrected.

There are stone walls. Go figure. Why have I never noticed them before. As a matter of fact there's one right down the South side of the property. Understand, I only drive down that road 3 or 4 times a week. Have done so for the past twenty years or so. My boat is only a couple of blocks away from the old Borden farm house. As a matter of fact the back of the old farm, as it was in the late 1800s bordered the Coles River. If Lizzie strolled down to the water she would see the exact spot, a couple of hundred feet out on the water, where I keep my sailing vessel Saudades.

Yes Curry:

You are right about that. Swansea has some wonderful open land, old farmland. But not where the old homestead stands, the one shared with the Almy family. You must be thinking of Borden's other farm, the one we don't know much about, or at the very least, is not talked about as much as the one on Gardner's Neck Road. There were two major pieces of land owned by Borden in Swansea. One of them was located on Pearce Road, near Maple and Old Warren Road. Now I must admit my ignorance here about where the house stood. I researched it over 20 years ago and have forgotten which. There's an old place on Old Warren Road and another on Pearce which was owned by Borden. But I don't think they summered there at all. It was just real estate.

I'll take a drive down the google map and try to find them.

Below is the wall that runs along the South side of the Borden place. You can see it through the trees.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:29 pm

Yes Curry:

The farm up on Pearce Road and Old Warren Roads was quite big. Can't remember the size, but somewhere south or north of 100 acres. Borden owned two major pieces of farm property. One was called the lower and one the upper farm. There's been some dispute about this, though. On Gardner's neck road Borden owned property on both sides of Garnder's Neck. The reference to upper and lower could have been a description of one farm, the one on Gardner's neck, which was split by the road. The landscape behind the old farm house on Gardners Neck slopes down to the water—Coles River. The reference to this section of land could have been called the lower farm.

Now the one out on Pearce and Old Warren Roads, was a couple of miles further west, away from the city. Elevations here are higher than Gardners, thus this could be the upper farm. I don't quite know. (you see, you can't know everything)

Below are two Swansea Farm Houses. The blue one is on Pearce Road and the bigger two story colonial is on Old Warren Road. Borden owned one of them and in fact may have owned both at one time. Sorry, can't remember of the cuff. In any event there's plenty of open land close by and not as densely populated as Gardner's Neck.

I have worked inside the big white house below. Did some wiring. Can't remember what it looked like and had no idea of the building's history at the time. That was over 30 years ago. Sheeat/I can't remember where I left my keys this morning let alone something a generation ago.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:50 pm

Interesting observation that I made clear to some historical friends of mine.

The Cape Cod home on Gardner's Neck Road was built some time in the 1790s. Yep, it's an old house. To put it into perspective for our friends Down Under, it was just around the time that the British took notice to Australia and opened a penal colony in New South Wales. (correct me if I'm wrong, Curry)

Now, what many maY not know is that that Cape Cod home was added onto at some time. Originally it was built by Peleg Gardner. I believe there are 3 ancient homes on Gardner's Neck belonging to the Gardner family. The Borden place was one of them.

But the original house, as it was built by Peleg, encompassed the portion from the small chimney, but not including the small chimney, to the right. It had one front door and two windows on each side. Standard Cape. Now, there's a possibility that it was a half cape at one time, or a 3/4 cape.

In any event, let us assume it was a full cape. That would mean that the portion to the left, including a door and two windows, and including the smaller chimney, was an addition at one time. Could have been added by the Almy family when he and Borden shared the place.

But if you look carefully at the photo below, you can see a shadow or slight line, or hump, just to the right of the small chimney, starting at the roof line and down to the gutter. This is where the two buildings were married.

Interesting...

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:05 pm

One more shot, just for laughs and giggles.

In the photo below you can see how the Borden property sloped down to the water. Off to the right you can see the Borden farm house. Click on map to make it BIG. You can see the words Gardner's Neck Road, center right. Just to the left of the words "Neck Road" is the Borden farmhouse. Just to the left in the middle of the water, above the docks, is where my summer home floats. If it were the 1880s, the land would have been cleared of trees, there would be no homes, just open farmland, and I would have a clear view of the Borden farmhouse from the deck.

OH LOOK! THERE GOES DAVID ANTHONY!

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:19 am

I was thinking Anthony's farm photos were of an area similar to John Morse's Iowa farm. If anyone finds the link to Swansea photos, please post...

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:26 am

The Anthony estate was nothing like Morse's Iowa property. It was more of a summer home on the water overlooking Mount Hope Bay. Mount Hope Bay spills into Buzzards Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean roughly 20 miles south. Very nautical location. I have never seen the Morse property but being in the middle of the country nothing like the Anthony place.

You should find some photos of the Anthony home in the thread below.

Also a map of the US. The red ballon is where the Anthony place stands. Iowa can be seen off to the left. Very different country. Used for totally different purposes.

(click on map to make BIG)

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5618&hilit=david+anthony

.

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:51 pm

Oops! Whose on first????

I meant Anthony's farm photos as in aamartin=Anthony...not David Anthony's family.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 8:05 pm

.

That's very funny, Deb.

I was thinking about how you were not making any sense there with your comparison. Now I know why.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:12 am

Curryong wrote:I believe the farm at Swansea is still there. Lovely rolling countryside. I think Anthony posted some photos of the farmland last year. I have seen photos of the farmhouse but I don't know how old they were. Why not send Mbhenty a private message asking about Maplecroft? Mb knows all about the Fall River district.

Curryong wrote:That surprises me, mb. I'm sure that last year on a thread where the Swansea farm was being discussed, Anthony posted a couple of photos from a visit to the area made by friends. It showed some nice countryside. Perhaps it was the other Swansea farm, who knows??

debbiediablo wrote:I was thinking Anthony's farm photos were of an area similar to John Morse's Iowa farm. If anyone finds the link to Swansea photos, please post...

Curry and Debbie, correct me if I am wrong. Is this the thread that is being referred to in which Anthony (aamartin) posted some pictures of John Morse’s farm in Iowa?

http://tinyurl.com/kv7z6ee

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 12:32 pm

Yes, those are the photos I had in mind...recalling they were of Morse's farm in Iowa, not Swansea. But maybe there are others posted by Anthony of Swansea that I've not seen.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:15 pm

You may be right, Debbie. I don't recall any photos the Anthony posted of the farm in Swansea, but I could be mistaken. Where is Anthony (aamartin)?

Curryong · Post by **Curryong** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:08 pm

Yes, I was wrong, totally wrong! Sorry. I swear my memory's going! It was Uncle John's farm. I was thinking of another discussion about Swansea, another thread.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:06 pm

Curryong wrote:Yes, I was wrong, totally wrong! Sorry. I swear my memory's going! It was Uncle John's farm. I was thinking of another discussion about Swansea, another thread.

Please don't be so hard on yourself, Curry. We all make mistakes and I'm sure all of us have thought our memory's were going at one time or another. Personally, I refer to little these episodes of memory loss as: "My mind took a vacation without me!!!"

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:37 am

Three members of the Lizzie Borden forum were discussing the travails of getting older. Twinsrwe said, "Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand while standing in front of the refrigerator, and I can't remember whether I need to put it away, or start making a sandwich."

Then Curryong chimed in with, "Yes, sometimes I find myself on the landing of the stairs and can't remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down."

The third one, DebbieDiablo, responded, " Well, ladies, I'm glad I don't have that problem. Knock on wood," as she rapped her knuckles on the table...and then said, "That must be the door, I'll get it!"

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:21 am

Now that is funny, Debbie!!!

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:03 am

Aha ! So this is where everyone is. Hope to get some kind of tour of Maplecroft even if it's not finished when I'm there

Curryong · Post by **Curryong** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:18 pm

Thanks for being so understanding about my Alzheimer's, Debbie and twins!! Good one deb! I could have sworn it was when we were talking about the Swansea farms and now I know better! It's awful when you're older and the memory goes like that. Thank heavens it's only momentary, so far! I have been so busy helping out with the twins, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I wonder whether Bronte enjosyed her little excursion around Fall River? Those photos mb provided are very interesting. The Swansea houses are rather pretty, I think, especially the lower one with the 'steeple'. I can understand the Borden sisters being fond of the property and not wanting it to go out of the family cough, cough!

Has the owner of Maplecroft started on her visible improvements to the house yet? I'd love to see it when it's finished. Lizzie would be proud!

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:32 pm

I like the blue one, too, and I'm curious as to whether this is original construction or if the porch, turret and roof on the left of the picture were added later. Somehow, to me, this looks like the Borden house with a lot of add-ons...

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:58 pm

Curryong wrote:Thanks for being so understanding about my Alzheimer's, Debbie and twins!! Good one deb! I could have sworn it was when we were talking about the Swansea farms and now I know better! It's awful when you're older and the memory goes like that. Thank heavens it's only momentary, so far! I have been so busy helping out with the twins, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

You’re welcome, Curry. We are all getting older and have memory lapses, so you are not alone, by any means. I like your excuse though!!!

Curryong wrote:… Those photos mb provided are very interesting. The Swansea houses are rather pretty, I think, especially the lower one with the 'steeple'.

I agree, MB’s photos are fantastic! I also love the blue one with the turret!!! If I owned that house, my very own private space would definitely be inside the turret on the top level.

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:17 am

MB, is that a Cape Cod house with a Queen Anne porch and turret? Or is it a Federal style with a Cape Cod dormer added on. I can't quite visualize adding a dormer (or whatever it's called) like that given the placement of the second floor windows. Or is it an entirely different style? My knowledge of architecture is limited to what I like and what I don't.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:14 pm

It's hard to tell what this house was built as. In principle it is not a Cape Cod. The side walls are too tall. That being said, a Cape Cod Greek Revival has tall walls that are very similar, but on a Greek Revival Cape the roof is not as steep.

From what I remember the little blue turret house is quite old, probably middle 1800s. At least that is what I remember. Would need to find and go over my notes to give you an exact date.

Most of what you see was not original to the house. The turret was probably added in the late 19th century by those whacky Victorians. The dormer is almost certainly a much later addition. Early dormers were true dormers and its outside wall recessed into the roof. Also probably added during the Victorian period was the porch. Though if it was in fact built as a farm house a front porch could have been possible.

It is most certain not a Federal Style. Much later. And most Federal Style were two solid stories, with low gable roofs, and a center door. Also most were very large.

Another good way to tell style are windows. But the ones you see are vinyl replacements, with vinyl siding, thus the only way you have to rate the style is the shape of the box. So you must envision it without the turret, dormers, and porch. But without the original trim trying to pinpoint the style is difficult. But taking into consideration the area in the 1800s, open farmland, I would have to guess that that is what it was.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:31 pm

Below is the little blue turret house. Try to visualize it without the front porch, without the turret, and without the dormer, keeping in mind the location of the front door.

Now look at the yellow house below, a Greek Revival.

Same exact shape eh?

So it could also have been a Greek Revival at one time.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:46 pm

A good tell tale of a Greek Revival is the front door. Many were built with recessed doors, similar to the Borden house, which is a proper way to build a GR house.

The little blue house in Swansea does not have this feather. But who is to know what could have happened to this place in 160+ years.

So you see, hard to tell.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:02 pm

While we are talking Architecture let us talk about my favorite style, Greek Revival, and what I have seen done way to many times in Fall River.

The two houses below were once identical twins. One was restored, the other destroyed. Very sad. I remember the white house before it went on the market for sale. It had all it's trim, windows, siding, etc. Then someone, who had no clue and no respect for a home, stripped it clean, gutting the exterior, shutters, windows, doors, and all. What you see below is the result. What a loss. Greek Revival to Greek Trash.

The house below is almost as it looked when it was built, except for the front bay window. It would have had two windows similar to the ones to the right of the front door, and real cedar shingles on the roof.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:09 pm

Oh, yes, and one more thing. Shutters were not common to Greek Revival style............unless you were a Victorian.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:20 pm

MB, thank you for explaining the different style houses to us. I absolutely love the porch on the little blue house in Swansea! Thank you for posting that picture.

What a shame that the white Greek Revival house was stripped of all it's beauty; there is nothing left to admire!

IMO, a barn has more character!

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:32 pm

Thanks MB. I love old houses if they haven't been "remodeled." My favorite styles are Italianate and Roman Revival to look at and Arts and Crafts to live in.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:41 pm

Your welcome Twins, and thanks.

Yes Deb. Fall River has its share of Italianate architecture. Much of it has been "Victorianized" to make up a word. That is to say that historically it has many Queen Anne attributes and are historically known as "High Victorian Italianate. Below are a few very Italianate homes near where Lizzie lived by Maplecroft.

The first house is the Swift house right next door to Mapecroft, and probably unchanged from the day it was built. Mr. Swift later became Emma's attorney, if I'm not mistaken. The Italianate homes are all near-by.

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:02 am

OMG. I've always wanted a house with a widow's walk!!! Thank you so much MB!!!

patsy · Post by **patsy** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:26 pm

Thanks for all the pictures, MB, and it's nice to know at least one wall still stands. There's something about walls that I especially like and hate to see them destroyed.

Bronte · Post by **Bronte** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:55 pm

I just want to say that I did enjoy my little drive around Fall River so much that I did not want to leave and come back south..I know you all must think I am silly for not asking for the address for Maplecroft but I was just enjoying my ride and I got it in my head that I would eventually find it but sadly I was off by two blocks.I actually did a Google street search after I posted on here and I found "Maplecroft" Lol! I must admit I was shocked that there is a hospital just within walking distance to Maplecroft. I wonder how Lizzie would have felt about that? I fell in love with the beautiful 19th century houses and I get why Lizzie wanted to move up on the hill.As far as Swansea goes the drive seemed so long to me just to the exit and then a quick turn around because lets face it if I couldn't find Maplecroft there would be no way I would ever locate the farm (even if it was still there) I will take your word Mbhenty, that it was only about a 30 or 35 minute carriage ride it just seemed longer to me for some reason..I will try to post my pics of my little adventure to the group asasp! I will say again Fall River was beautiful the only thing that I thought about was how hard it must be to get around on the "Hill" during the winter months other than that I could see myself living in such a lovely city..

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:35 pm

mbhenty wrote:Your welcome Twins, and thanks. ...

You're welcome, and thanks to you we have a great thread going here.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:39 pm

OK:

As for speed Bronte, lets look at it below. You will need to click on the map to make it BIG!

Over to the right where you see the green ballon is 92 Second Street. The route you see is between 92 Second Street and 1205 Gardner's Neck Road—the Borden farm.

I mapped this route on GoogleMaps. It came out to 5 miles. The route Lizzie would take is not the same but adds up to the same distance. On this map the trip is taken over the Braga Bridge. The one Lizzie would take would go down to the water and then she would turn right on what you see as route 79 on the map. (Upper right edge)

On this map you can see the designation or number "79". Right to the left of that there was a small bridge at one time. The Slades Ferry Bridge, which no longer exists. Lizzie would have taken that bridge across the Taunton river and landed on the other side at route 103. You can see that route 103 ends at the water there. From there she would follow 103 until she met up with our route—the blue line—and continue to Garder's Neck Road and the Farm.

Again the entire route is 5 miles. You can check that by going to google maps type in 1205 Gardner's Neck Road and get directions to 230 Second Street. (230 is really 92. But the correct mailing address is not 92 but 230)

Now, a good comfortable fast pace for a horse and buggy would be probably as fast as a quick running man, from say 7 to 10 miles per hour. If you are traveling at 10 miles an hour and you want to travel 5 miles, naturally it would take you 30 minutes. If you were quick you could probably make it in 20 minutes. Driving in a car at 10 to 15 miles an hour is a crawl. On a horse towing a carriage is a comfortable clip.

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:40 pm

That pink one catches my eye although it needs a lot of TLC and clean-up on the outside plus a roof that isn't brown. I hope the inside isn't turned into four apartments!

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:55 pm

Yes Deb:

That house is on Walnut Street, just about 4 to 5 blocks from Maplecroft.

Funny enough, I have worked inside that house, doing some wiring. It is still a one family home. Hurray!!

There's actually a kitchen and catering company in the basement, believe it or not. But that was about 10 years ago. Not sure if it is still in business.

It is very nice inside, but nothing spectacular from what I remember.

Below is a much more recent photo.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:57 pm

Now Deb:

If you compare the two photos I supplied of the Italianate home on walnut street.................

In the first photo you can see the trash on the sidewalk and the cellar door swung open. That's because there was a business on the first/cellar level.

In the next photo you notice it looks much nicer. The business must be gone.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:00 pm

About the Italianate on Walnut Street........

I went to my little "historical home directory" but it does not list who built it. It does state that it was built in 1860.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:09 pm

The house below has always been one of my favorites.

It once stood on Hanover Street near Charlton Hospital, which is a couple hundred feet from Maplecorft. It was moved when the hospital purchased the land it stood on. It is known as the Seth Borden House. Mr. Borden was a treasurer at the Hargraves Mills on Quequechan Street in Fall River.

The house still stands on Hanover Street, but much further north.

I suppose you could call it "Stick Construction", similar style to the Andrew Jennings House on June Street. (Lizzie's lawyer)

I love the little Gothic style porch. Wonderful home.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:12 pm

For comparison here is the Andrew Jennings House on June Street, 2 blocks down French Street from Maplecroft.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:24 pm

Talking about loving homes with widow's walks....

And breaking up homes into apartments....

(I posted some of these before. But they are still worth a second look)

This is the the beautiful Stafford—Cummings House. It was once a single family home. It now contains 8 or 9 condos and sits about 5 blocks from Maplecroft.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:40 pm

Now here's a little bit of news I discovered the other day. One that most Lizzie Borden or Maplecorft experts and fans did not know. I didn't.

Mapelcroft at one time had shutters. Yep Shutters. There exists no photos of Maplecorft with shutters. I have not seen them but have been told they exist. Lizzie must have had them removed, either to paint the house or because she wanted them removed.

Interesting since I have been informed that the shutters will be placed back at some time in the future when the house is repainted. (It's original color)

Below is the earliest photo I can find of Mapecroft. Circa 1915 to 1920something.

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:14 pm

What's the original colour and didn't lizzie have it repainted a different colour ?

debbiediablo · Post by **debbiediablo** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:40 pm

I am so enjoying the house tour MB. I love old houses all the way from miner shacks in Galena, IL to Vanderbilt Mansion on NYC. Thank you! Thank you! We own a medium sized (3,300 square feet) Queen Anne in Manchester, IA, that fell into disrepair and ended up being sold for a song. I had the most fun painting it! First a green Independence shangle roof, and then Benjamin Moore paint with the main body of the house being African violet trimmed with creme froth and accented with Kennebunkport green. African violet is a gentle pale violet...this is NOT a big purple house!! I got the idea from the Mayfair House featured in Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches Trilogy set in New Orleans.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:28 pm

Good for you Deb.

Retaining a bit of history and preserving it for future generations is an honorable undertaking.

Yes, some of these old Victorians can be had for a fraction of what it took to build. But they can also cost a lot more to restore than it took to build it. That is why some people strip everything off and vinyl side.

As for me, I find such work challenging. Below are some photos of my front porch being restored over 4 years ago. I had a master carpenter come over, a friend, and he told me to bring the porch back to its glory days would cost north of 20 thousand. It was then that I insisted that I could do it, and I did.

Even in the short 4 to 5 years since the porch was renovated, it is now starting to age and loose its luster. A lesson we can all use when aging.

Of course much of the porch was done for. Trim was all rotted and no way of bringing it back. Most of it was gone long ago, and accept for the porch posts and roof line, most of the Victorian trim work was an invention of my mine. I was the designer. I thought up all the swoops and cutouts, and trim. With nothing to go by I invented what I have seen in the past on other homes and incorporated parts of different porches all into one, with a few ideas of my own.

The porch posts were rotted from the deck up two feet. I had to rebuild and add on new legs to the decorative posts. I was happy to have saved all of them.

Thus stands the Phoebe Davenport house, once owned by Lizzie Borden.