THE RESTORATION EFFORT
THE RESTORATION EFFORT
The above newspaper clipping shows the house as it was in the early 1990's, when it was for sale on the traditional real estate market. The text indicates that the house was built in 1814, while tax records suggest 1816. We are using 1816 as the date of construction so as not to appear presumptuous. The ad also indicates original mantels remaining, but only one mantel exists now. I have left Jim Tracey's phone numbers legible on the ad, as Jim is a Realtor who handles many historic homes in Lynchburg, and has a real love for downtown revitalization.
In May of 1999, I acquired the Peter Elliott House on Harrison Street from the Lynchburg Housing & Redevelopment Authority. This Federal Style structure was one of the Authority's Homesteading Program properties. An article about this program from the News & Advance may be viewed at the above link. Also, the May 1999 issue of This Old House Magazine had an article about the program in their "Save This Old House" Department. Many people have asked me if the Housing Authority has any more Federal houses available. They do not have any of the style at this time, but they do have a house of the period. Located at Polk & 8th Streets, the brick vernacular house was built in 1817 by Hezekiah Jordan, a bricklayer, and has extensive frame additions in the rear. Most of the available houses are of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and several treasures remain. To date, eight individuals are participating in the Homesteading Program.
The Peter Elliott house is the smallest brick Federal style residence remaining in Lynchburg. A number of three-bay frame structures of the period remain, however. The Elliott house also differs from those three-bay houses in that its door is set in the middle bay, rather than in the right or left bay. In addition, the staircase is in a spiral configuration in the northeast corner of the house, thus allowing the formation of one additional 10'x11' room on each floor. The 3-bay houses that have the typical side-hall plan utilize one entire bay for a hallway and stairs, only allowing for one room on each floor.
The house is being partially restored and partially renovated. By restore, we mean that we are attempting to bring the house back to its original state wherever possible. However, there are some areas that require change to make the house more livable. For example, the rear addition will be replaced with an enlarged structure, including a modern kitchen and bathroom. The Peter Elliott house will be a residence, not a museum. We are, however, attempting to work within the spirit of the building, style, and period in everything we do.
Many people have commented on the amount of historical work that we done so far. This research has been done hand in hand with the demolition and stabilization phase. Now that we have a better idea of who lived in the house, and how it was used, we are in a much better position to move ahead with the exciting, constructive phase of the project.
Emily and I would like to thank the following individuals who have volunteered to help with this project: Jim Bratton, Krista Bratton, Henry Brown, Preston Bryant, Arvid Englund, Elizabeth Farmer, Mary Gough, Tom Gough, Andrew Hoffman, Randy Hopper, Fred Maiden, Esther Nance, Justin Nance, Ben Nash, Donna Patton, Jim Patton, John Sites, Marylin Sites, Ann Smith, William T. Smith, Michael Speet, Phil Spradlin, Josh Tyler, Marian Van Dyke, Warren Van Dyke. My apologies if we have forgotten anyone.
Wm. Scott Breckinridge Smith: Scott, a native of Central Virginia, holds a deep interest in history. He serves on the board of the James River Batteau Festival, and is an officer in Gaskins' Virginia Battalion of 1781, a Revolutionary War reenactment unit. in 2001, Scott was appointed by Governor Jim Gilmore to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia State Parks Foundation. Smith has attended a number of historic preservation workshops and seminars at a variety of locations, including ones at Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. Scott attended Lynchburg College as a Marketing Major, but received three years of architectural drawing training in secondary school. He is employed as the Executive Director of Bedford Main Street, Inc., a local program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program.J. Emily Patton: Emily hails from Grand Junction in Western Colorado, and studied historic preservation at Mary Washington College and Randolph Macon Woman's College. She has worked at Colonial Williamsburg, and is a volunteer at Historic Sandusky, a federal period home in Lynchburg. An historical author, Emily enjoys Revolutionary War era living history and 18th century dancing. Even in Colorado, Emily was involved in local historic preservation and historical interpretation activities.
Check out the story here
and here
There is an article about the Peter Elliott House project in the
Sunday
23 January 2000 edition of the News &
Advance.
Click here
to go to a copy of the article.
HGTV's Dreambuilders television show did a spot on my house in May of 1999. It ran in November (Episode #507).
A spot on the project is also running on HGTV's Old
Homes Restored. (Episode
#103)
We submitted documentation on the house to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for placement on the Virginia Landmarks Register. The staff of the Department has recommended to the Board of Historic Resources that the Elliott House be declared eligible for placement. The Board met on December 1st, and declared the house eligible for placement on the Virginia Landmarks Register. We have now begun the process of nominating the building for actual placement on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
UPDATE:
In 2002, Madison and Harrison Streets including the cross streets of 6th & 7th were added to the Court House Hill-Downtown National Historic District (one of six historic districts in Lynchburg). The Dicks-Elliott House is a contributing structure in this boundary increase, and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as such.
Sand for the mortar could have come from two nearby sources: Blackwater Creek and the James River. From the Elliott House, the closest access to Blackwater Creek is on present-day Hollins Mill Road at the Hollins Mill Dam. This site is .94 miles distant from the house. The James River is closer, but the trip to the River is much steeper, and access is limited. Thomas Jefferson frequently directed his workers to stop on the Blackwater Creek to collect sand before returning to Poplar Forest from Lynchburg. It is unknown where they collected sand, or if it was used in mortar at Poplar Forest.
UPDATE: After installing the stones, we decided not to use them, and built a wooden porch instead.