Monday, September 22, 2014

Farmhouse Souvenirs and Greenville PA

When we asked our son what we should pack for the trip he told us to bring shoes because the weather is very changeable and there is heavy dew in the mornings.  I took 3 pair of sandals, 3 pair of closed shoes and my rubber boots for walking down to the barn in the morning.  We had an entire suitcase of shoes and I wore everything I took - lol!  I abandoned our rubber boots and left them behind so I could bring back this wallpaper.  No kidding.  Priorities.  The red and the white are both vintage.  They are not fond of the vintage wallpaper but there was some in the foyer that I would have licked off the wall if I could.  The wallpaper in the back is modern and the previous owners special ordered it from Ireland.  I agree I would NOT want it on my walls but it will be fun for art making. 
The metal bits are barn findings.  I had a few larger pieces then decided to leave them behind since they might have triggered a TSA search.  They did search my backpack but that is a story for another post.
In the last post I showed you the front of the house.  This is the right side where the mud room, kitchen and deck are located.  Next Spring this entire section will likely be torn down and rebuilt.  The contractor said that would be less expensive that trying to fix what is there.  The previous owner fancied himself a handyman and he was NOT.
The chimney you see in the center of the photo is on the side of the kitchen.  While we were there we helped removed the old cook stove and replace it with a heating stove.  Despite what the previous owners said, a cook stove has a fire box about the size of a loaf of bread and was never intended to "throw" heat, in fact, it was designed to do exactly the opposite.  We also helped haul and stack wood.  It was a good thing since we woke up to a house full of smoke one morning and the boiler had gasped it's last breath.  They plan to put in geothermal next Spring and had just filled the oil tank for the final Winter on the boiler.  Are you starting to get the picture around here?
This is the back left corner of the house.  The portion with the hip roof is the original c.1820 house.  It was a small Summer home when it was built.  There have been a few changes over the years...  The second story is a master bedroom suite.  The windows below it are the family room.  We stayed in the room on this back corner of the original house. 
The room is huge and the previous owners did leave them with some beautiful old carpets.  They made it very comfortable for us.  Note massive non-working radiator under the window.  They are in every room and removing them will be a project in itself.  Luckily they have youth and enthusiasm on their side.  Restoring an old farmhouse is not for the faint of heart.
The house does retain a lot of it's charm, it is just filled with authentic chippy patina.  Betsy, this picture is for you.  These old marble doorknobs are stunning!
The balcony off the bedroom looks out over the farm.  They don't have any ambient light from a city so, on a clear night, you can stand out there and see the Milky Way.  Big sigh....  Or try to shoot a marauding groundhog.
Looking back from the house toward the pasture and soy bean field.  The property extends to the tree line at the very back of the photo.
Who takes a picture of a cellar?  Apparently I do.  I thought the quarried limestone foundation was pretty neat because I'm easy that way.
They live about half way between and somewhat west of Greenville and Jamestown.  The Husband loves old trains and, as luck would have it, Greenville has a railroad museum.  They were closed the day we stopped but the curator stopped to pick up the mail and saw me reading a sign out front and invited us in.  We got the low down on everything with a private tour.

After seeing the sign on the side of the Bessemer caboose we got back to the farm and I noticed the name Bessemer was stamped in to some of the bricks in the walkway from the front porch to the side deck.
I found a few others, as well.  The brick paths will be removed when the kitchen addition is rebuilt so I pointed out the railroad bricks so they would be sure to save them.  Maybe I should have sacrificed another pair of shoes for one.
This is the sign I was readying when the curator came by.  Stefan Banic was from Greenville and held the patent for the first parachute.  It was quite a contraction, like a big skirt you wore around your waist.  He had to jump out of an airplane to prove it worked.  That guy had some, um, brass somethings! We also learned the famous attorney, Clarence Darrow was from Greenville.
I think I have at least partially figured out the problem with my missing blog comments.  I have been getting a LOT of spam comments on my old Grow Your Blog post so I got frustrated with it and started marking them as spam.  I didn't stop to think that it might mark ALL the comments as spam.  Oddly, it only seems to have affected comments from bloggers that are also in my gmail contacts.  Go figure!  If you are missing comments, check your spam folder and mark them as NOT SPAM.

13 comments:

Art and Sand said...

Oh, my goodness!

I love the exterior of the house. I would not relish all the work that needs to be done, but like you say, they have youth on their side.

It will be fun to see the changes the next time you visit.

CATHY said...

What a wonderful project for them - I would LOVE to redo an old farm house - even at my age : ) It truly is lovely home!

Celestina Marie said...

What a beauty this farmhouse is and the setting is spectacular.
Love that you left your boots behind. I thought I was the only one to do that sort of thing!!
How nice you got a private tour of the station.
Looking forward to the reno process.
Happy fall,
XO

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

What an incredible home and beautiful piece of property. I'll take the charm of these old historic homes any day. The wallpaper was worth sacrificing your boots, the bricks too, but I think TSA might have confiscated them, lol. I'm drooling over those beautiful floors and I thank you for the doorknob and key hole. When can I expect them?

Annette said...

I can see why they wanted this great old place. It is like something out of a movie. You are right about the work. I would love to find something like this AFTER the renovation. It is just lovely. How great for your hubby that he got a personal tour of the museum!!!

~Damita's Pretty Wrap~ said...

Hi there Kathy! Enjoyed these pictures! It's so amazing the charm old houses can have!! LOVE those beautiful marble knobs!! :) Happy Fall! xo Holly

Blessed Serendipity said...

What a neat house. I love old houses and the details they have. I laugh when I read about you leaving your shoes so you could bring back more goodies with you. At least next time you visit, you wont have to pack as many shoes.

xo Danielle

Annette said...

What an amazing looking house and property. I love the charm and oldness of the inside, but I'm sure it gets tiring dealing with one repair after another.
Next time you'll have to take an empty suitcase to bring back more stuff!!

laurie -magpie ethel said...

Super cool house and property...glad that visit was fun filled and that you wore all those shoes you brought!

Into Vintage said...

Wow -- I'm having major old-house-envy at the moment. I have to wonder about the history of it and the people who have lived there over the past 100+ years. Thanks for sharing it.
PS I would have traded mud boots for vintage wallpaper in a heartbeat.

Laurie said...

Oh...that makes perfect sense about the comments since Blogger and gmail are both Google products! I love those bricks, too!

Barbara said...

Holy cow. You are not going to believe this, but I grew up about 5-10 miles outside of Greenville. The railroad park? My uncle worked on it. Bessemer? Where my grandpa worked. You must email me at once and fill me in! My parents still live not too far from there, and my dear friend owns the downtown hardware store - wouldn't it be AMAZING if we met there?

Maureen said...

Wow, what an incredible home! I do hope they save those bricks. How lucky are you to get a private tour? Sounds like a wonderful place to live.