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Six, but the two small ones may just be old vents. Take a good look at the place at all angles on Google street view.
I'd love to know how the place looked when it was first built. I imagine it was a smallish two bedroom house. There was a barn for the horses, wagon and carriage. There was an out house and maybe a shed. If there weren't any on the property, he probably planted fruit or nut trees.
But all that restoration would certainly cost more than the asking price for the house as is. Yet the final result would be well-worth more than the sum of its parts.
I hope this one winds up in the right hands.
You raised a number of good points. What I'd have to wonder though, is whether the house is even for sale now. It sounds like the house was recently purchased by the Trust. It was mentioned that the purpose of the "porch hopping tour" is to raise funds for future restoration of that house. I seriously doubt they'll sell enough tour tickets, even at $10 a head, to be able to pay for the cost to restore the house any time soon.
If the Trust intends to sell the house, I would think they'd leave the restoration costs up to the new owner, perhaps with a stipulation that the new owner would be required to restore the house.
In 2010, the population was 8,340. That's a pretty small town. However, the town apparently has the reputation of being Kentucky's oldest town and the first permanent settlement west of the Allegheny mountains. That's pretty impressive. Spring Hill Cemetery isn't too far from the house in question and looks like it's well maintained and contains a surprisingly large number of headstones. It looks like it may be the only cemetery in the town itself. Maybe the town could qualify for some kind of grant to restore the house as an historical structure.
I dunno, it sounds like an "Unexplained Mystery" to me. Is the house for sale or not? Will it actually be restored or just left "as is" to crumble to the ground?
Six, but the two small ones may just be old vents. Take a good look at the place at all angles on Google street view.
I'd love to know how the place looked when it was first built. I imagine it was a smallish two bedroom house. There was a barn for the horses, wagon and carriage. There was an out house and maybe a shed. If there weren't any on the property, he probably planted fruit or nut trees.
According to that link I posted, it's five. Hey, this house we are talking about isn't creepy but the one you posted about really is ( in NJ- the one that scared you- or the tavern) Gads, the kitchen table in the dining room with the fireplace is - too much.
I think the house on Factory street would be beautiful restored, but it will need a lot of love. If it were me, I wouldn't restore it. I would rip the staircase completely off/ put some decorative metal on there instead and make it the main focus. I personally think the ground is too wet that the house sits on.
Last edited by thegreenflute334; 01-31-2016 at 10:29 PM..
If you loved old houses, would you ever buy one and renovate it or would you find it too creepy? Most people picture a typical spooky old Victorian mansion with ghosts, but what about an old house built in 1820? I see this old house, nothing fancy but it must have had many people born in it and die in it. It was there during the Civil War and every war since then. If money to renovate was not an issue, would you take a chance and hope it's not haunted or is the risk too great that a house like this would have so much history both good and bad that it would freak you out whenever you heard a strange noise. I'm not thinking of buying this, but someday an old house will be in my future.
If money is no object, I would say go for it! It does need a lot of work, but the price is dirt cheap. Seems like it would be a very rewarding project.
Harrodsburg..... Is that where the Shaker Village is?
Well, I needed to correct my post. I think the foundation has sunk over time so that is where I might get that the ground is too wet. If it were mine, the staircase would go and I would to something really different to join the top floor to first floor.
For me, and I love old houses, the purpose of buying such a house would be to restore it as close to original as possible. Otherwise you can buy any old house from the mid to late 1900s rather than something from the early 1800s. The goal would be to save as much as possible of the original layout, fixtures, walls and everything else that is salvageable, and that would definitely include the original staircase.
That's why it would be a good idea to hire an architect and structural engineer to determine what can be saved and how to save it. Again, I'm not considering cost. If one doesn't have the money to do this, than one should buy a different house.
The last thing I would do is change the overall appearance. If for example the staircase couldn't be saved, then I would have a duplicate of the original staircase made. That being said, I'm pretty sure with the right people doing the work and supervising, even the staircase could be strengthened and saved, at least the majority of it.
Also, some towns in Kentucky have historic districts which limits what a person can or cannot do to old historic homes and properties. Bardstown is one of them but I don't know if Harrodsburg does. If not, it probably should in order to preserve it's history and houses like this.
Yes, Shakertown at Pleasant Hill is just a few miles from Harrodsburg. It's a beautiful restored 19th century Shaker village, with more original buildings than any other surviving Shaker settlement in the country, and well-worth visiting. It offers fine dining in the Trustees' House, traditional Shaker craft demonstrations, a working farm with the same crops and breeds of animals kept by the Shakers, original or fine reproduction furnishings throughout, wagon rides, riverboat rides on the adjacent very scenic Kentucky River (in season), hiking on miles of trails, and overnight accommodations in original Shaker structures, plus programs of various kinds, particularly musical (original Shaker hymns and more) throughout the year. Great place for visiting with school-age kids for a family vacation. If you enjoy Colonial Williamsburg, you'd like Shakertown.
As for the house in Harrodsburg, I would certainly not replace that iconic early staircase, with its original cherry banister, with a modern staircase of any description. It appears to be in good shape as is, unlike some of the house's other features, and should be a major selling point. I doubt that the James Harrod Trust would be anxious to sell the house to anyone who plans to remove its best features.
As for the fundraising sponsored by the JHT, they stated online that they were replacing the leaky roof in order to stabilize and protect the structure. They obviously are not taking on full restoration, hence the low asking price. I imagine this basic repair's costs were covered by the walking tour, aka the "Front Porch Tour". Taking groups of people inside the house at this point could be unsafe and an insurance liability, hence the "front porch" aspect.
The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation is a similar non-profit, based in Lexington but also covering the counties adjacent to Fayette County (which includes Lexington). The BGT has hosted similar fundraising tours of historic neighborhoods from time to time, and usually only a few houses are open (and then not completely open) to participants. Tours are led by knowledgable volunteers who can explain the featured houses and their history, and answer "tourists"' questions. I would assume Harrodsburg's "Front Porch Tours" were similar. The BGT has also occasionally purchased endangered houses, stabilized them and offered them for sale at low costs to new owners who will respect their history and restore them appropriately.
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