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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.
Actually, I think it's quite, um adorable?
I would buy it, in fact I think it is in remarkable condition for it's age. It Obviously needs some work, and the bath....both location and doors needs to be addressed. I'd redo the kitchen, too.
ANY house you can assume someone died in, as most people would prefer to die at home if possible.
Just because someone did die in the house, doesn't mean their energy is still around.
Oh, the stories those walls could tell. I'd love to see a movie of THAT.
I am impressed the house is in such great shape for being almost 200 years old. Apparently it was well built to start with. Or the pics are deceiving.
I'd buy it in a heartbeat, and If I read the price right, looks doable.
I think that house would look incredibly different and nicer were the shrunk windows returned to their full original size and, where I think I see the possible evidence of some old bricked up window opening on one side, that would make a difference to open it back up. I see nothing "creepy" about that house. I would have an engineer look over the foundation though.
Looks like it could have been a boarding house or possibly a physician's home/office. Kind of has a feeling of a place of business. Maybe patients were seen on the main floor. Has lots of chimneys. There is probably a skeleton in one of the chimneys.
Looks like it could have been a boarding house or possibly a physician's home/office. Kind of has a feeling of a place of business. Maybe patients were seen on the main floor. Has lots of chimneys. There is probably a skeleton in one of the chimneys.
Funny you would say that about it being a doctor's house because it was. The first owner of the house was Dr. William Pawling sometime before the year 1828.
"The brick house at the northeast corner of College and Factory Streets has been a fixture in Harrodsburg for a long time. It was constructed on in-lot # 130 in the original town plat sometime before 1828. We know this because on 4 September 1828 Dr. William Robertson made a deed for the property to William Pawling for a certain parcel of ground “on which the said Pawling’s brick residence is now erected.†This was in the day when a man’s word was as good as his bond, and Pawling had apparently built his home without benefit of a legal deed to the property! Dr. William Pawling may have practiced his profession at the house. Among the personal property he mortgaged in 1831 are his medical library, medicines, and shop furniture. After several years of financial struggle, perhaps brought on by the nation’s economic downturn in the 1820s, Dr. Pawling sold the property and moved to Danville where he continued to practice medicine until his death in 1872. "
I know of two local houses that date back to the 1700s that have been preserved in period. One was an Ironmaster's mansion and has some pretty extensive grounds with it, the other is an old Inn with a much smaller lot. They're beautiful old homes but the catch is that there's almost no modern updating anywhere. One is almost like a museum, the other is also very much intact to at least the 1800s. That might be fun for a weekend place and I like early American architecture and decorating, but for what you'd pay you'd also want a top notch kitchen and bathroom and all the modern comforts.
Some houses blend in modern touches and keep the original feature as much as possible and they look fantastic. Others have incredible outward appearances but the interiors have been mercilessly gutted and ruined, IMO.
I think that house would look incredibly different and nicer were the shrunk windows returned to their full original size and, where I think I see the possible evidence of some old bricked up window opening on one side, that would make a difference to open it back up. I see nothing "creepy" about that house. I would have an engineer look over the foundation though.
To my eye (and I could be wrong here I only have a photo from some distance to go by) to the right of the door with the little porch on the gable side in the primary picture of that listing page, the brickwork looks to me like it was reworked to cover a window opening. To the right of where the chimney would pass through on the interior side of the wall. The wall itself looks odd for a house of that period with no window there. Artificial light was dim and expensive in those days so windows were taken advantage of.
The other openings that were covered or shrunk in size were done with wood and are pretty easy to see.
...I would buy it, in fact I think it is in remarkable condition for its age...
Look where the floor has dropped in the room with the 'L' - shaped bar (apparent from the widening gap between the wall panels). Notice, also, that the flooring in that room has been removed to assess the problem. You'll definitely drop a wad of cash in that room, and there appears to be major water damage throughout the house.
To my eye (and I could be wrong here I only have a photo from some distance to go by) to the right of the door with the little porch on the gable side in the primary picture of that listing page, the brickwork looks to me like it was reworked to cover a window opening. To the right of where the chimney would pass through on the interior side of the wall. The wall itself looks odd for a house of that period with no window there. Artificial light was dim and expensive in those days so windows were taken advantage of.
The other openings that were covered or shrunk in size were done with wood and are pretty easy to see.
Look at picture #16 on the trulia site. I'm pretty sure that's the room that's missing the window. There's a built in cupboard, cabinet. That wall looks like it needs a window, but so does the rear wall.
Natural light was an advantage, but glass was very expensive. The front and side, first floor, have very long windows. The rear brick wall has a smaller window, but it doesn't look as though a larger one would fit there. The right rear of the two story section has an addition with a smaller window, too. That window was probably always that size.
Look where the floor has dropped in the room with the 'L' - shaped bar (apparent from the widening gap between the wall panels). Notice, also, that the flooring in that room has been removed to assess the problem. You'll definitely drop a wad of cash in that room, and there appears to be major water damage throughout the house.
The kitchen? I really can't tell from that picture. It's not hard to see that there was a roof leak. The place was vacant for 15 years, and no heat or AC means that there will be mold. A few of those ceilings look nasty.
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