This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a brick Folk Victorian home right on Main Street in Harleysville, PA.
Folk Victorian homes are characterized by classic and simple home forms, adding Victorian detailing and spindlework, often with a front porch. They are distinguished from those homes commonly labeled as Victorian or Queen Anne since they take on traditional and vernacular shapes and forms. With the spread of railroad systems throughout the country by the mid-to-late 19th century, woodworking machinery was more widely used, allowing the decorative trim and wood detailing popular at the time more easily available for homeowners.
This example is approximately 2,400 square feet and was originally constructed with a two-story L-shaped plan which presents as a five-ranked, side-gabled facade on Main Street. The overall form resembles that of a Georgian Revival style but is detailed quite differently. The Victorian gingerbread porch with its turned posts are the main feature, and the blue-painted raised panel wood shutters originally provided desired privacy at the first floor. The windows throughout are placed in shallow brick arched openings, with the top header exhibiting additional Victorian ornamental detail. An approximately 200-square foot wood-framed addition was constructed at some point to fill in the L-shape on the first floor in the rear, with more turned posts continuing the character of the original home.
Origins
Early ownership history has been difficult to nail down immediately, as 1900-1930 census records did not help me out with addresses of those residents enumerated. However, county records estimate that the home was constructed in 1893. As
this brief history of the nearby and well-known Harleysville Hotel describes, Sumneytown Pike (Main St Harleysville on this stretch) was constructed in 1735, and vastly improved road conditions performed in 1848 allowed Main Street to flourish with the construction of new homes and businesses, including a general store, small clothing factory, and a feed store in addition to the Hotel.
By the time this home was constructed, the town had a population of a few hundred people. The 1893 estimated construction date appears to be accurate to within a few years based on examination of early atlas maps. The home appears to have been built on land formerly owned by Henry C. Delp, who was listed in the 1880 census as a farmer, but in 1900 as a "market man", perhaps having established a store along the main road. The census records from Harleysville, by the way, read like a list of surnames from my high school (I grew up in Harleysville)-- Gottshall, Kulp, Ziegler, Clemens, Moyer.
By the way, there also exists a wood-frame barn at the rear edge of the property, built supposedly around 1890 even before the house. Although this is just speculation not based on records, it is possible that this barn could date back to the property being owned by the Delp family.
1970s to Present
This brick home has changed stewardship three times in the last 40 years, having been sold in 1976, then just a few years later in 1983, and most recently in 2002. It is currently on the market, looking for its newest caretakers. The interior rooms of the one-story wood frame addition have the exposed brick of the original exterior at this part of the house, which gives the inside of the home a nice nod to its history.
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