Photos courtesy of Laurie Greco
Photos courtesy of Laurie Greco
When it rains, it pours, and mother nature never considers a homeowner’s plan. The Gideon Hart House, erected in 1820 and now the oldest home in Westerville, has withstood the weather for nearly two-hundred years.
Jefferson Barlew and his wife, Laurie Greco, recently purchased this house, which was originally constructed in 1820 by Gideon Hart on 380 acres – land that was awarded to his father for service in the Revolutionary War.
“I think the good part of the story is just the age,” Charlie Griffey, owner of Griffey Remodeling, says. His company was tabbed by Barlew and Greco to reclaim the home’s nearly two-centuries-old fireplaces.
“It’s actually the oldest house in Westerville,” Griffey says.
Griffey’s wife Vicky, who does interior design, made a comment on the precarious position of a tree on the home’s lot during an estimation visit. Lo and behold, shortly after the Griffey’s visit, they received a call from Barlew, who indicated that the scope of work might change.
The reason: a windstorm had toppled the very same tree on which Vicky had pointed out just a few days prior.
“Thank goodness we already had Charlie on board before that happened,” Barlew says.
Luckily, no one was injured – Barlew and his wife had not yet moved into the house.
“It was mostly exterior damage. The tree came down on the roof and busted several rafters. All the siding was completely torn off,” Griffey says.
Perhaps Mother Nature did indeed have a plan for the house. When the tree fell, it struck the front exterior of the house, which exposed the true condition of the roof.
“It was literally siding, air, plaster and there was no vapor barrier, there was no sheeting, etc.,” Barlew says. This presented the opportunity to bring the house up to code.
Photos courtesy of Laurie Greco
Another fortuitous benefit was that the fallen tree provided ready-made material for the chimney reclamation.
“The bonus is when the tree fell down, it knocked over the external chimney above. We were actually able to repurpose that original brick,” Griffey says.
As can be expected, there are multiple issues to consider when reclaiming a fireplace that was built in 1820, the same year that Maine officially became the 23rd state and James Monroe was president of the U.S. According to Griffey, the ‘unknown’ can be the biggest issue.
“The fireplace was all covered in plaster. Originally, we went into it not knowing the condition of the brick. Back then they fired all the brick on site. We didn’t know if all the bricks were uniform,” Griffey says.
The rich history of the home was one of the main factors taken into consideration when Greco and Barlew made the decision to purchase the home and now they have their own micro-history of events leading up to the house becoming a home.
Nathan Collins is an editor. Feedback welcome at ncollins@cityscenemediagroup.com.
