Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER THREE
dismantling an old
hewn-log house for res-
toration is a delightful unlayering of history. As the
original family grew or the house changed hands, the
tastes and circumstances of the owners were imposed
on the aging structure.
Taking off lath and plaster, removing crumbling
additions and porches, step by step getting back
through the generations, finally we reach logs. And we
sense the comings and goings, the toil, and the sudden
joys of so many who made this their home.
The inside of a window casing holds a penciled
record of a visit by one girl to another in October 1838.
Bees have built hives in the hollow walls of this addi-
tion in the 40 years since it was lived in. In a pocket of
debris is a newspaper scrap with the chilling ad for “a
well-mannered carpenter for sale.” It is so hard to
relate to life as it must have been lived then.
We never find money. Old bottles beneath floors,
lavender with age. A lathed-over window, complete, in
what had been an outside wall. A row of coat pegs in
a basement, with a sliding wall panel to more room in
an addition — this was once a tavern.
Once, we found a newspaper from October 1859
that included an account of John Brown's raid on
Harpers Ferry as seen by an eyewitness. The paper is
stained and faded, preserved between furring strips
and lathing over a log wall. So that's about when this
cabin had its face lifted — when the nation stumbled
toward its bath in blood.
These owners wanted a respectable house. False
graining decorates those widened stairs. Three rooms
have elaborate fireplace mantels and hearths, fake
against the plaster walls of additions.
The Virginia farmhouse pictured
here (inset) was built in 1859-60
around a late 1700s cabin (above).
We researched the house, stripped
it, and restored it to as near the
original as possible. It remains
one of my favorite restorations.
This newspaper ad was found in an 1838 timber-frame addition in
Goochland County, Virginia.
