Surveying Interior Wood Casings to Distinguish Original from Alteration

There are several methods for distinguishing original construction inside your home from later alterations and additions. You can look for source documents, such as permits, photos, or drawings as evidence of your home in a previous condition. You can look at floor plans of typical homes of the time period and try to determine if your house's layout ever fit that arrangement or something similar, and interviewing former occupants may be the most helpful. Additionally, you can examine the existing physical details, such as interior wood trim. A stark, or even subtle, but noticable, divergence from the overall trim detail scheme in a house (or portions of a house) can hint of a detail or a wall that was constructed later than the original. Although distinctions can be discerned from any type of trim (such as baseboards, wainscoting, or crown moldings), this article will focus on looking at casings.

Why Casings and What Exactly Are They?

Interior casings are a type of wood trim that serve the primary purpose of finishing the gap between a wall's finish (i.e. drywall, plaster, or wood paneling) and a door or window's frame. Casings also are used to frame "cased openings"-- a wall opening with no door in it.

This image shows how the casing trim covers over the gap between the wall finish and the wood frame of the opening. Image via Fine Home Building.

The interior trim is an opportunity to inject character through either intricate or simple detail, and its use throughout history has served as a method of associating the interiors with an overall architectural style or movement. Casings can incorporate details to your heart's content, such as keystones, plinth blocks, corner blocks, entablatures, and are often formed with molding profiles of varying depth and detail.

Classical detailing in this cased opening. Photo credit: Mark Lohman, via This Old House.

Door casings with a fluted profile and rosette corner blocks. Photo credit: Shannon Malone via Houzz.

Now, why do I focus on casings? I contend that they simply are less likely to have been modified or added over the course of history in an older home than other types of interior trim. As opposed to baseboards and crown moldings, casings are generally at eye level and more easily in the field of vision, meaning it was near impossible for the builder of the original home to avoid giving significant thought to their appearance. Sure, they may have been painted over 10 times, but once in place there generally isn't much of a reason to change the casings out unless one goes out of their way to change the character of their home's interior. Baseboards, on the other hand, might hold more impetus for change if flooring is upgraded or changed. Crown moldings, wainscoting, and chair or picture rails generally are treatments provided on a per-room basis and could have been added at any time. The casings are elements most likely to have been given consistent thought upon original construction and to have stayed that way.

When examining the casing trim throughout a house, remember the word consistent, as this does not mean that all casings are treated equally by the builder. A higher level of detail and ornament may have been provided in more public rooms, with simple detailing in bedrooms or on the second level of the house. The same could be said for size-- larger rooms or openings might have consistently been given larger-scaled trim to remain in proportion. Again, we're looking for changes in consistency-- if you see a prominent room that has casings with a fancy frieze and entablature over top of most openings, but one wall has a door with corner blocks, someone may have added that wall at some point or punched a new door into an existing wall.

A Case In Point

Our 1920's bungalow has always been a modest home. It has never included incredibly rich architectural details, such as what you might find in a true craftsman home, but nonetheless it is not without its character. Most of the casings in my home are flat stock on the jambs (sides) but have a 6" tall entablature crowning the top of the opening. They look like this:

It is remarkably consistent, except where it isn't. Look at the picture below of what you see when you walk in through the front door of the house:

The opening to the right of the photo has just flat stock trim all the way around, with no additional detail whatsoever. It looks like this up-close:

Is this a less-important opening? No, not really-- it is a smaller opening, and it does lead into the "back-of-house" bedroom areas of the house, but most of the casings in those bedrooms have the more detailed entablature. The answer is that the opening with the flat trim was added several decades later, I believe in the 1950's or 60's. In the close-up view you can see two more openings beyond-- one with the more detailed trim (on the left) and one with the flat stock trim around the door (to the right). That opening with the detailed entablature was originally the entrance into the front bedroom from the hallway. Take a look from the bedroom side of these partitions:

Through the current bedroom door, you can see the casing of the original door opening just visible beyond. That entire bump-out in the entrance corner of the bedroom is a later addition, not original (you can see what I believe to be the original layout of the house here)-- the closet door to the right has our tell-tale entablature detail, but the current bedroom door opening has the flat stock. Again, look for breaks from the consistency in your house-- if the original builder had wished to make a distinction between less-important openings with the flat stock trim, that closet door would be more likely to lack the detail than the actual bedroom door.

Aside from the fact that I have documentation and other clues of previous alterations to the house, the flat wood casings are a dead giveaway throughout the house that they are not original. In truth, the casings with the added detail are so consistently similar to each other, and the flat trim is so consistently inconsistent with that overall theme, that I believe all of the flat trim was installed by the Cantlin family, who were the home's only owners from 1932 to 2001. I have full confidence that if it has flat trim, then either it's a wall that is not part of the house's original layout, or a new door or opening was made in an original wall. This is a theory that plays out when I compare the locations of various trim styles with the evolution of the floor plan of my house.

Here are some further examples throughout the house:

Casings in the original portion of the house all exhibit that entablature detail, unless the wall itself was later modified.

All of the casings within the 1940's addition are flat stock.

Even in the original bedrooms, we have entablatures at the window casings.

But no detail was added to the window and door casings in the 1940's addition.

Yet, one more trim style exists, and that is at both bathrooms. Here, we see standard-issue casing trim that you'll find at any big-box home improvement store. This was installed by the owners prior to me.

Entrance to the bathroom on the left, with a basic casing profile from the home improvement store.

This is not to downgrade its status-- on the contrary, the majority of the updates post-2001 work quite nicely for this modest home. It's what most people today would use. However, the difference from the other trim clearly marks its timeline in the house. On a side note, one question this leaves me with is whether the window in our second, more public, bathroom is in a window opening that was always there or whether the window opening was added (the window itself is a modern double-pane replacement).

If you'll notice, it has the same Home Depot window casing. Perhaps the original, more detailed (and entablatured) casing was ripped out, either when the original kitchen was converted to a bathroom in the 1950's or when new owners modernized within the last 15 years. The other possibility is that the casing trim never existed and that a new window was created during that bathroom conversion-- something to investigate further if I ever get to the point of replacing our exterior asbestos siding.

Hopefully now you are able to look for both the consistencies and differences in the trim of your house. Although the contrast between the two main trim styles in my house are more obvious, even a more thoughtful renovation job done in the past can show subtle inconsistencies that can clue you into non-original alterations. Put your mind into that of the original builder, and think about what he would have done...

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Who Designed My House?!? Was It a Kit House?

I am an architect by profession. Although the firm for which I am employed does not design single-family houses, I have designed a single-family house in the past. I might never design my own personal new-construction home from the ground up as some architects do, but I do have designs in my head for an upwards addition to this current home. I currently live in a 1920's bungalow of simple and unadorned design-- although I would pine for a slightly larger-scale home with superb Craftsman details. My wife and I both love the charm and history of older homes, if it wasn't painfully clear by the existence of this blog. Whether it's this home, or another, I may yet get to direct a large-scale renovation and/or addition of an older home for our family. I have patience in spades, so for now those designs in my head remain quelled. So, in my quest for the most thorough gathering of this home's history as I can muster, a natural question occurring to me and to any older home owner would be "Who Designed My House?" It's a question that, more often than not, may have no definitive answer.

Most Homes Aren't Architect-Designed

When one considers the traditional manner in which a trained architect would design a single-family residence, this historically has been a realm reserved for larger and more custom houses. A very large percentage of older American houses have no architect in the definition of that profession, but were rather fashioned by owners or builders using very prevalent folk and vernacular forms. This is especially true in pre-railroad days prior to the 1870's or so.

Even after the advent of the railroad system, when architectural styles became less regional and were adapted more swiftly at a wider geographical scale, designs from pattern books were heavily consulted and many owners purchased floor plans. Mail-order kit houses, such as those sold by Sears, became incredibly popular in the 1910's through 1930's. Either of these two methods meant that the house design was already prepared. According to Katherine Cole Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl in their book Houses By Mail, staff architects working for the company (in the case of Sears) prepared most of the kit house designs, however many were modifications of already prevalent styles and successfully-proven house designs. The same would generally be true of today's more prevalent "cookie-cutter" subdivisions erected by home-building companies.

If you are fortunate enough to own a larger older home, there is a better chance that its original owner commissioned its design by a professional architect. Regardless of whether or not your house is a good candidate for having been "architect-designed", it is worth a trip to your local municipality's building department or records office. There, you can inquire about the permit history for your property. You just might luck out and find an original building permit (although many of these records may no longer be in existence). If you are very lucky, you might find plans. Either the permit or the drawings would likely bear an architect's name, if there was one.

Who Designed My House?!?

So, we return to this question for my singular house. In my case, the question is as perplexing as determining which owner had my home built: Jayson Stover, Harry Renninger, or Andrew Gutekunst. Frankly, both questions might have the same answer. All three men owned this building lot separately between the relatively short span of May 1922 and October 1924. Stover was a carpenter, Renninger was a real estate broker/investor, and Gutekunst was a flooring contractor who had a known partnership with carpenter William Brosz. My prevailing theory is that the house was designed and built at the earlier portion of that span, in either 1922 or 1923, although any of these three men could have been its creator.

Some time ago, the previous owner who sold this house to us mentioned that he thought that this might be a "kit house", although I have yet to find any evidence supporting that. Aside from the fact that the location near the Ardsley train station makes delivery of a house kit a distinct possibility, I've yet to find any marking on joists or other original lumber and building materials (I will discuss kit houses in more detail in the future, but for more information you can always turn to Rosemary Thornton, a foremost authority on the subject).

Despite having found no evidence of a kit house, that did not stop me from searching through scores of kit house designs, looking for a comparable. I was most struck by this example, "The Florence" sold by Montgomery Ward in their 1930 catalog:

Courtesy of Antique Home Style

Now, this is NOT the design of my house. Most glaringly is the roof over the front porch, which extends the shape of the gabled roof fully over the porch. My house has its own separate hipped roof over the porch. Nor was this mail-order design the inspiration for my home's design-- although there could have been an earlier version of this Montgomery Ward offering, my home was built several years prior to this publication in 1930. However, there are quite a few similarities to examine here:

First, on the exterior, the overall form of a 1-1/2 sory bungalow is similar in both examples. Each has a front-gabled pitched roof and a simple, prevailing rectangular shape oriented with its length from the front of the lot to the back. Each has a front porch with three piers, and just a few steps raises the porch and the main living floor above the ground. The primary difference of the extended gable over the porch in the design for the "Florence" versus the shorter hipped roof in my house was already mentioned-- in the kit house the space above the porch added a bit more attic area. Other noticable differences are that the porch piers are trimmed lumber in the kit, whereas the builder of my house used local Chestnut Hill stone. A minor difference is that the porch is entered on the front side in the kit as opposed to the side at my house.

Further, my house has a projecting bay window at the left side facade. The kit house does not. Even though, as you'll see below in the floor plan examination, the remainder of the windows correspond to the same room functions, the size, proportions, and sash patterns of the fenestration do not match between the two designs. The front door is separate from all windows at my house, where the "Florence" incorporates the door in between two double-hung windows. (Note: the windows you see towards the back of my house are the rear addition from the 1940's, a piece not relevant in the comparison to the kit house design).

However, what most struck me when I found the "Florence" were the similarities between floor plans. Below is a comparison between the 1930 floor plan of the kit house design and what I believe to be the original 1920's floor plan of my house.

First, I must make it a point to myself to draft this sketch of my house more accurately. As an architect, I'm not thrilled with myself that I haven't yet taken the time to draw this properly, so please excuse the crudity of the sketch on the right.

The layout of the kit house and the original layout of my house are near identical. While I admit that I do not know this original layout for certain, I feel pretty confident based on conversation with the Cantlins' (long-time owners) daughter-in-law, who lived in my house for a few years in the late 1950's. I also admit that in a house of this size and shape, with five rooms plus a bathroom, there is not an infinite number of possible floor plan layouts. However, this is by far the most similar I have come across.

In both floor plans, one enters into what was the primary living room, with clear views through a cased opening into the dining room beyond. The kitchen was at the rear corner of the house, with access to the basement at this location. In my house one could also have proceeded directly to the backyard through a rear door, whereas in the kit house the back exit was at a landing a few steps down. The right side of the plan in both cases hold the two bedrooms, with a bathroom sandwiched between and a connecting hallway entered off of the dining room.

Now, with kit houses, the dimensions of the house, especially at its exterior, must match exactly in order to verify it as a kit house. This is due to the fact that in these kits, lumber was shipped in pre-cut sizes-- deviation from the lengths provided would have proved more costly and would have required more skill. The "Florence" measured 34'-0" x 22'-0", and my house measures 34'-2" x 24'-2". It's pretty close, but my house is clearly too wide to match up with this kit house design. The dimensions of the interior rooms also differ from that shown in the "Florence" design, although not by as much as is implied by my drawing.

So It's Not a Kit House-- Who Designed It?

Well, I suspect that due to the carpentry skills either of the men (Stover, Renninger, or Gutekunst) themselves, or their association with carpenters, that an existing design from some source was chosen and modified to suit the builder/owner's taste. It was not a kit, but was built-to-suit without significant elaboration, although the use of the stone piers indicates to me that the builder took some license. I hope to continue to hack away at some of the questions surrounding the house's history, and who knows, perhaps further details about this house's origins will come to light.

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Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1915 Eclectic Home in Mount Airy

This week's Saturday Spotlight takes us across the city limits into Philadelphia for the first time, with an eclectically styled home on Lincoln Drive in the West Mount Airy neighborhood.

Image via Google Street View

Ever since I moved to Glenside, one thing I have very much enjoyed is that I no longer am forced to drive the hellish interstate that is the Schuylkill Expressway when I want to drive to Center City Philadelphia. Instead, I am treated to the meandering thoroughfares of the Cresheim Valley Road and Lincoln Drive. Any day of the week I'll trade the chance at a speedy trip downtown for these pleasant routes through some of Philadelphia's most established communities like Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, and a plethora of homes built of Wissahickon schist stone.

This home is nearly 5,300 square feet, and its unusually eclectic architectural style is what caught my eye. It boasts a Lincoln Drive address, and although you may able to catch it as you zip by, it actually presents most of its frontage on the cross street of Westview St. A mostly symmetrical facade with a hipped roof and deeply bracketed eaves, I mostly see Italianate or Renaissance Revival coming through in the mix of styles. The fenestration pattern and chimneys at either end carry over Colonial Revival planning. The most interesting features of the architecture, however, are the uniquely shaped arch dormers at the attic level. I can't quite peg that particular shape to a specific influence, maybe Flemish, but the center dormer which breaks the deep cornice line of the house makes a strong statement. Shallow segmented arches carry through to the first floor windows, the center window of the second floor, and the main entry porch. The stucco facades are uniquely adorned with red brick belt-coursing and perimeter trim, and a decorative diamond motif manifests itself throughout the exterior.

Image via Google Street View

Origins

The land on which this home presently sits was once part of a vast 500-acre estate owned by a prominent Philadelphia scientist and druggist, George W. Carpenter (1802-1860). It also happens to sit within the southwest corner of a 100-acre portion of Carpenter's primary estate, named Phil-Ellena. In 1893, Carpenter's beneficiaries sold this land to a business interest which included all-time Philadelphia capitalists Anthony Drexel and Edward T. Stotesbury (I previously discussed E.T. Stotesbury in another Saturday Spotlight post on a property in suburban Wyndmoor). What followed was the planned development called Pelham. The area, with the Chestnut Hill train line running through it, became popular, giving rise to hundreds of architect-designed twin homes and mansion homes for successful businessmen of the mercantile trades. The first decade of the 20th century saw the creation of Lincoln Drive, an extension of the existing thoroughfare (then called Wissahickon Drive) that wound through Fairmount Park along the Wissahickon Creek. The extension cut through Mount Airy along the branch of the Monoshone Creek, and is today one of the main thoroughfares to the near-northern suburbs of Philadelphia.

1895 map of Mount Airy. "X" marking the future spot of the featured house. The name "Ed. T. Stotesbury et al" is sprinkled throughout the Pelham neighborhood which is springing up at this time. Lincoln Drive goes no further north than Carpenter Lane at this point. Portion of a map courtesy of PhilaGeoHistory.

The assumed construction date for this eclectic stucco house is sometime between 1910-1920. It is believed to have been constructed for a wealthy manufacturer of ladies' dresses, named Abraham H. Caplan. Caplan was a native Russian, born in 1870 in what is now Latvia, and emigrated to the United States in 1884, later becoming a naturalized citizen, and clearly, a successful entrepreneur. Caplan lived at this home with his wife, Lena, and their three children-- daughter Irena was the eldest, and two boys, Clarence and Harold. Caplan employed two African-American women in 1920 as a live-in cook, 41-yr-old Minnie Bevens, and a live-in maid, 23-yr-old Cora Williams.

Lena (left) and Abraham Caplan (right). Photos from their 1923 application for a U.S. Passport.

1930s to Present

Although it is unclear exactly what may have happened to Abe's dressmaking business, by 1930 he and his family have moved onto a rental apartment in Germantown, and Abe has now switched careers to become the manager of a real estate business. Whatever those possibly poor fortunes may have been, the Lincoln Drive house saw a new owner. This was a Mr. John M. Greene, a 72-year-old retired treasurer of a sugar refinery business, and formerly of Atlantic City. Greene occupied the abode with his 62-year-old wife, Cecilia Gertrude Greene, and reported a value for the home of $40,000 in 1930. Cecilia, apparently Greene's third wife, passed away only a few years later, in 1933, of a type of heart disease.

It did not take the womanizing John Greene too long to find his fourth bride, however, as he married Ellen Nordstrom, approximately 45 years younger, the following year in Manhattan. John and Ellen lived in Mount Airy at the Lincoln Drive home through at least 1940. At some point thereafter, the couple moved to Yeadon in Delware County, with John Greene eventually retiring in 1945 to a nursing home in Chestnut Hill. He passed away there in 1947.

As for the Lincoln Drive house, a Mrs. Roy S. Streeter is listed at the address in 1950. The house has been well cared for and has been owned by the current owners for the past 24 years, since 1992. A veterinarian runs his business from this address, specializing in making house calls to ailing pets in their own homes.

UPDATE: I was contacted by Margaret, a former resident of this house, who lived there from 1950 to 1991! According to her, the Bailey family was the first African-American family to live on Lincoln Drive. If this indeed the case, it is a fantastic and fascinating addition to the story of this house and to the history of Mount Airy. I'll continue digging, and when I learn more I'll be sure to share in a future post. Thanks to Margaret for writing in!

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A Walk Through the Ardsley Neighborhood (Ferguson's North Glenside)

Examining the history, growth, and architecture of your home's neighborhood can tell you quite a bit about its own history by providing context, both physical and temporal. We've now been through two posts regarding the subdivision in which my house was built, Ferguson's North Glenside. The first post explained the process of discovering the subdivision's name through historical map exploration. The second post gave a brief history of Reginald T. Ferguson's creation of the subdivision by splitting two larger tracts of land, including that of Emma Spear. Here, we venture off into the residential neighborhood, which gained its name Ardsley in its early days. I'll examine briefly the variety of residential architecture, spanning from the 1920's through present-day. I'll also point out the neighborhood landmarks which provide amenities to residents.

View down the 600 block of Central Ave, with varying home styles. From Left to Right: 1920's Bungalow, 1960's Garrison Colonial, 1920's Bungalow, 1920's Bungalow, 1950's brick Cape Cod variant.

Ardsley vs North Hills

While this greater area of Glenside, including land south and west of that divided by Ferguson, at one point fell under the category of "North Glenside", that name no longer exists today. Ardsley I've already described historically, and lies largely east of Jenkintown Road and even extends slightly into Upper Dublin Township. Present-day North Hills, which includes areas which used to be known as Edge Hill and Remlu, respectively, comprises the western half of the area, roughly along Limekiln Pike, and again extending into Upper Dublin. It was subdivided earlier than Ardsley, and thus its concentration of homes is on the whole a few decades older, with many homes from 1900-1930. Although my house is technically within the subdivision which became Ardsley, you can see that it is right at the western edge of the former Emma Spear land, and with its 1920's construction and location west of Jenkintown Road, my property more associates with North Hills in today's geography.

You've seen this clip from a 1916 map in previous posts, showing location of my house at the western edge of the Emma A. Spear tract. Base map courtesy of Franklin Maps.

Ardsley and North Hills could be considered sister communities, as they blend seamlessly into one another and even share a youth sports organization called Ardsley-North Hills Athletic Association. Although the Upper Dublin portion of North Hills is more lower-middle class these days, Ardsley-North Hills as a whole is solidly middle class, with lot sizes of roughly one acre and modest single-family homes efficiently filling the streetscape.

Residential Architecture of Ardsley

As described previously, Ferguson did not act as a builder or developer with his subdivision, but rather as a land speculator profiting off the sale of individual lots. Thus, individuals built up the neighborhood over time, resulting in an eclectic mix of 20th century home styles. This differs from the classic portrayal of the American suburban subdivision, where developers built homes all in one fell swoop prior to selling the homes to individuals (typical of many post-WW2 developments).

Take a look at these photos from my neighborhood walk and you'll see a wide range of residential architecture: split-level, Craftsman bungalow, Cape Cod, ranch, Dutch Colonial, and other Colonial Revival subtypes. Today, nearly 1,200 houses exist in the various Ferguson North Glenside subdivisions, almost all of which are single-family homes. A few twin homes are sprinkled in, with no 3+ family buildings. The pattern of development here mirrors closely that of American suburban development as a phenomenon, with a larger-scale demand for new housing after WWII.

With the subdivisions established around 1920, roughly 120 or so houses were quickly constructed by various owners, filling in roughly 10-12% of the vacant lots. These houses were to a large extent built close to the main arterial of Jenkintown Road. During this time period, we see the architecture of the time in bungalows, Craftsmans, and Colonial Revivals.

This c. 1923 Craftsman Bungalow on Meyer Ave is one of few in the neighborhood with wood shingle siding appropriate for the time period. It looks great!

This c. 1920 Craftsman Bungalow on Tennis Ave recently replaced the inappropriate vinyl siding. Although I would have liked to see wood or fiber cement siding as well as the brick kept exposed on the chimney, I have to admit the stucco job on this house was pretty well done.

Circa 1930 Dutch Colonial at the corner of Jenkintown Rd and Jackson Ave.

On Maple Ave, a c. 1923 Colonial Revival with Dutch gambrel roof on left, next to a c. 1930 Bungalow on the right.

The Great Depression did slow development in the burgeoning suburb in the 1930's, but still about 60-70 homes were built in Ardsley, typically of the similar style varieties seen in the 1920's. The 1940's saw a similar rate of development as the 1920's, starting to mix in the popular Cape Cod style.

Circa 1948 Cape Cod home on Spear Ave.

A Cape Cod variant with front cross gable from circa 1945, at the corner of Maple Ave and Woodrow Ave.

Then, the real boom came. Although the gradual filling in of all these lots resulted in an eclectic mix of houses, roughly 55% of the current housing stock in the Ferguson subdivisions was built in the 1950's. Thus, there exists today a large number of split-levels, ranchers, and Cape Cod homes which were popular after the second World War. More than 90% of the residential lots were occupied by homes by the end of the 1960's.

On the 900 block of Cricket Ave, from Left to Right: c. 1955 Split-Level, c. 1958 Split-Level, c. 1955 Ranch. These split levels, with the distinctive roof eave projecting out at an angle, popped up all over the subdivision in the late 1950's and early 1960's. It is possible that the same builder spent several years building the same style house here.

Looking east down Meyer Ave towards Maple Ave, from Left to Right: one-half visible of a c. 1955 brick Ranch, c. 1956 Cape Cod, c. 1955 Ranch, and two c. 1961 Split-Levels before the intersection. Even though Meyer Ave deviates from the standard grid of the remainder of Ardsley (due to Sandy Run Creek), the houses are still oriented in the same direction as the other houses in the area, creating a diagonal arrangement with the street line.

C. 1955 Cape Cod on Spear Ave, directly across the street from the Community Center.

A few buildable lots do remain, with many of them incorporated into neighboring lots as side or backyards. Ryan Circle was created as a brand new cul de sac off of Meyer Ave in 1997, with 8 new two-story Colonial Revival houses. There also have been about a dozen new homes built since 2000.

Neighborhood Amenities

Not all of Ardsley is residential lots. For reasons not clear at this time, Reginald Ferguson did not continue Central Ave or Cricket Ave all the way to present-day Meyer Ave as he did with Tennis, Garfield, and Penn. Perhaps there had already been discussions of turning this area into a park or some other use. However this did not actually come to fruition officially until Abington Township purchased the land in 1935, nearly 15 years after the Spear tract was split. Ardsley Park came to be and remains today as an amenity with basketball and tennis courts, playing fields, and a playground.

The entrance to Ardsley Park, from the corner of Maple Ave and Jefferson Ave.

Across Maple Avenue rom the park, the entrance to the Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary sits as undeveloped land essentially contiguous with neighboring Hillside Cemetery.

Entrance to Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary, at corner of Maple Ave and Jefferson Ave.

What is today the community hub of the Ardsley Community Center, was originally the Ardsley Elementary School at about the midpoint of the former Spear land, on Spear Ave. It switched over to a community center in 1978 and today houses a daycare facility, acts as a meeting place for community and youth groups, and conducts educational programs. The fields out back also are the location for a number of community events.

Ardsley Community Center, formerly the Ardsley Elementary School, on Spear Ave.

And lastly, a significant stretch of Jenkintown Road, extending from Maple Avenue down to Tyson Avenue past the train station, exists as a commercial corridor. A number of staple businesses, including Joe's Meat Market and Little Rizzo's Pizza, are run along this stretch and several are even in structures originally built as single-family homes.

Joe's Meat and Grocery Market on Jenkintown Road.

Van's Lock Shop, Ardsley Cleaners, and Little Rizzo's Pizza on Jenkintown Road.

Ardsley Bible Chapel at the corner of Harrison Ave and Jenkintown Road.

Relating Neighborhood History to House History

Putting this in the context of my own home's construction at the western edge of the subdivision in the mid-1920's, there were only a few houses surrounding it for a few decades. As I've described previously, my neighbor relayed a story of long-time owner of my house Mrs Catherine Cantlin having been able to see the Ardsley train station 1/2 mile down Jenkintown Road. Although streets were laid out by Reginald Ferguson's subdivisions, roads were not immediately paved until the critical mass of home justified the expense by the township. The municipal sewer system was not constructed until the 1940's. All of these set a picture of the house in these early decades, one quite different than the dense, fully developed surroundings it enjoys today.

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Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1860's Second Empire in Gwynedd Valley

This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a stout and well-kept Second Empire in Lower Gwynedd, PA.

Although this house is a robust 3,800 square feet and commands its fair share of attention on Brushtown Road, it is dwarfed by many of the multi-million dollar mansions on the same road and in Lower Gywnedd at large. Yet, unlike the neighboring estates, this house has stood the test of time. It exhibits the characteristics of the Victorian Second Empire style, which was most popular in the post-civil war era.

The most distinctive feature of the Second Empire is the mansard roof, and on this house we see a straight-lined and shingled mansard. It's simple shape and lack of curves or flares owes to the simple nature of the rest of the home's exterior, as it lacks bracketing or other ornate details that many Second Empires exhibit. Yet, nonetheless, the three-ranked main facade of windows is typical of the style, and the two-story centered porch fits in as well. The dormer windows at the third level have an arched top, which is common.

Though you can't easily tell from the road, this house has significant addition square footage built onto it with a series of single-story additions: one on the rear, and one on the side. The single-story greenhouse is also clearly visible on the right side of the house from the road. The architecture of the house, both original and addition, is unified by some fine-looking wood german siding and what appear to be original wood shutters (at the least, if they are not original then they appear accurate historical reproductions from the street).

Origins

This one was a tricky one to date, as the county assessor's office has a construction date of 1832 listed. However, homes of this style simply were not built in the 1830's. The Second Empire style came into prominence as a modern style, both in the U.S. and in France, not until the 1850's at its earliest. Furthermore, although I labored to find documents or maps (within my reasonably short Saturday Spotlight research scope) that gave any indication of its existence prior to 1870, I was unable to do so. Perhaps further research would prove me wrong, but the house seems to be indicated on an 1871 map, but not on one from 1857. Thus, I am going to date this as an 1860's house.

A brief note about the land where this house sits. It appears to be part of the 700-acre tract originally settled by Edward Foulke, one of the earliest settlers of Gwynedd Township, in 1698.

The earliest owner which I was able to verify was Ms. Rachel Burrows, who owned the house at age 61 in the 1870 US census. Her husband John Burrows had previously passed away (possibly only a few years earlier, in 1867), but it is possible that the Burrows' were the home's original owners. Their son, 29-year-old William, is listed in the same household as a farmer, presumably farming the 4-acre land surrounding the home after his father's death. William's older sisters Matilda (age 34) and Mary (age 38) lived at the house as well in 1870, along with an 8-year-old girl named Ida May Scott. I did not dig too deeply into the genealogy of this family, but Ms. Rachel Burrows' maiden name was Scott, so it is easy to assume that the little girl was of some relation, perhaps even just visiting her aunt Rachel for the summer. The value of the home was estimated at $7,000 in 1870.

Rachel Burrows passed away in 1876 in Gwynedd, presumably at this house (an assumption, not a verified fact). Her son William continued to own the farm through at least 1880. The sisters, Mary and Matilda, continued on living at the house as well. An adopted 9-year-old girl also lived with the three single siblings in 1880. Somewhere within the next decade, however, ownership transfer to a Frank Woodhead.

By the time 1916 comes around, all the single-story additions appear to have been built already, and the house is owned by an Albert Boyle McMullen. County records indicate the construction of a garage structure (still present) in 1930. In 1934, and through at least 1940, the house and farm were owned by John B. and Jenny "Jennie" E. Heilman. John, a retired confectioner, was age 75 at the 1940 census, while Jenny was 68 years old, and the couple's son, 37-year-old Francis lived with them. The property was valued at $9,000 at this time. John Heilman, being French-born, perhaps was drawn to the Second Empire style of the house. He passed away in 1941 in Gwynedd Valley (again, maybe at the house, as no hospital or institution is listed on his death certificate).

1970s to Present

This house and its land have continued an interesting life in the past few decades as well. From late 1975 to early 1987, the house was owned by Francis Dring Wetherill Jr. Mr. Wetherill is a descendant of John Wanamaker, of department store fame, and his stepmother was a member of the Du Pont family. In 1987, the house was sold to Hugh A. A. Sargent, a senior partner in one of the most prominent law firms in Philadelphia.

Photo of the house, estimated from 1990s. Courtesy of Montgomery County

In 1998, the house, and perhaps more significantly, the land, were sold to a corporate entity-- Walmere Manor Land Development. At a time when incredibly large and impressive mansions were being built throughout Gwynedd Valley, this land was subdivided the following year into three parcels. Luckily, the 1860's house and its accompanying structures were spared and sold to a new owner that same year.  The remaining land was used to house a new multi-million dollar estate for Walmere's executive vice president. It is indeed a gorgeous building (I can't fathom using the word "house") and it was chronicled in a publication for luxury real estate listings in 2012.

The mansion built behind the 1860's house. Courtesy of Unique Homes Magazine

As for our Spotlight house, it was sold again in 2007 for $620,000 to a new steward-- a pittance compared to most of its neighbors. But it stands proud, kept in order, with its german siding and mansard roof, taking a proud position right against the street, whereas all the mansions are set back hundreds of feet. Take a drive along Brushtown Road, and admire this historic house as a stand-out among its fancy neighbors.

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Saturday Spotlight- Circa 1900 Stone Victorian in Ambler

This week's Saturday Spotlight house is a relatively modest stone Queen Anne Victorian in downtown Ambler, PA.

Ambler is a borough rich with turn-of-the-century stone houses, many of them being twin homes. This single-family example of approximately 2,400 square feet exhibits the waning of Victorian style around 1900, being much less decorative than most Queen Annes from the late 19th century. Still, this house has the scalloped shingles and turned posts on the front porch you would expect. As typical of a Victorian, the house is covered with a picturesque roof line, being hipped and interrupted by gabled dormers. These dormers are much less prominent than the front-facing gable which would typically dominate, however the dormer gables are still the place for the decorative shingling and includes a Palladian window with diamond panes on the side windows. A bay window adorns the side of the home, extending from ground level up to the roof eave.

Origins

In 1891, the hilly land upon which this house sits was part of the farm of Joseph Ambler. Although Joseph is not the namesake for the borough of Ambler, his mother, Mary, was. Joseph's land, right on Butler Avenue, was much more modestly sized than his brother Isaac's 51-acre farm nearby. By 1893, it appears Joseph's neighbor's land had become annexed into his farm, extending it all the way back to Forrest Avenue. In 1895, Joseph Ambler passed away, setting into motion the subdivision of his land.

The Victorian home was built most likely sometime between 1900-1910 by Leidy Barringer Heckler. Born in 1859, Leidy Heckler was a carpenter and contractor and lived nearby to this site, on Bethlehem Pike. By 1916, he had acquired and subdivided Joseph Ambler's farmland, building 36 homes all of similar size and construction, and of similar but slightly differing style. Hendricks Street formed the spine of this development, with a new street called Heckler Street, bearing the builder's name, branching off of it just to the north of the subject house.

Although some of these homes had clearly become finished and occupied by the time of the 1910 census, no occupants appear at this particular address. Heckler still apparently owned many of these homes immediately after construction for a time, with many of these homes containing rental tenants in the 1920 census. Scottish immigrants Robert and Mary Armour appear to have been early tenants in this home, Robert being a 65-year-old stock man at the iron works. 64-year-old Irish immigrant James Shannon, a watchman at an asbestos plant, presumably that of Keasby & Mattison (the operation that made Ambler the "asbestos capital of the world", which was a good thing at the time), also lived in the home.

By 1920 most of the Heckler houses had new permanent owners, including Clarence Yost at this subject house. Yost was a 31-year-old mechanic and taxicab owner, and lived at the home with his wife, Anna, and two daughters, Marion and Nanette Yost. The Yosts appear to have lived at the house at least through 1940.

1980s to Present

The post-WWII history of the home is not immediately evident, however by 1981, Robert Kelly and Gloria Montes-Kelly came to own the home for the next 17 years until 1998. The house changed hands again in 2007 and once again this past summer when a new owner took over stewardship. From the real estate listing realtor, we see several views of the homes lovely interior.

Interior photos courtesy of Allison Wolf realtor, BHHS Fox & Roach

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What I Knew on Day 1

The scope for a house history can go in any of a number of directions.  There are various types of documents from which information can be drawn. We will visit those specific directions and documents in other posts. For me, for my house, I essentially want to know anything there is to know, and in this sense my research may never be considered "complete". Although I did not begin to heavily research the house until many months after I moved in, we always wanted a house with some architectural and historical character, and I was interested in the history the day we closed. So, what did I already know on Day 1?

Approximate Date of Construction
The real estate listing for the house declared the date of construction as 1920. Now, this cannot be definitively stated as a completely accurate fact.  Realtors pull construction date info from local public record databases, most often specifically in property tax assessment records. However, while these records can accurately tell you assessment history (especially more recent assessment history), the construction date listed is most likely not correct if your house is any more than a few decades old. Although the style of the house is supportive of a construction date in this time period, we cannot assume 1920 is the exact year.

Likelihood of a Rear Addition
Our home inspection was invaluable to us as first-time home buyers, and one item that was revealed during this inspection was that the rear living room and bedroom were likely part of an addition. One can tell this from a simple visual inspection-- as we made our way around the north side of the house, a crack/separation in the exterior siding indicates that the foundation at this portion of the house had settled a bit more than that of the main house and was likely built at a different time than the original house.

At some point, the house was re-sided to appear uniform throughout. The other area from visual inspection where an addition is obvious is in the basement-- the original foundation wall ends at this same location, right at the staircase to the basement (and attic, which also ends at this point). A peek into the existing doorway cut in the foundation wall reveals a crawlspace, the stairs which at one point provided direct access to the exterior, and the floor joists supporting my living room floor.

Style of the House
The style of the house is clearly that of a typical American bungalow. The term "Craftsman" could apply to this style, although generally connotes the presence of more elaborately crafted details than my house exhibits. Bungalows were often a single story (or single story with an attic) and were commonly built in the first few decades of the 20th century. Architectural features include a low-pitched gabled roof, often with deeper eaves. My front porch with tapered stone piers is also a typical craftsman bungalow feature, although they more typically extend to the ground, as opposed to sitting on the porch slab.

Diagram of a Craftsman Bungalow, courtesy of A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia & Lee McAlester

Previous Ownership
We certainly know who sold the house to us-- a couple not much older than ourselves, who have kids of their own as well, had owned the house for 14 years, and were moving to a larger house in town. Our deed also tells us that they bought the house from a woman of the last name Cantlin. This would be a bit of information for further exploration, and previous deeds will feature heavily in future posts. There had been no recent sales prior to 2001.

Renovations
It was clear that the previous owners had cared quite a bit for the house and put quite a chunk of change into it. The seller's disclosure form they filled out as part of the process of our transaction indicated such items as new roofs (likely c. 2001) for the back section (previously mentioned "addition") and for the front porch; the addition of a rear deck (2003); and infrastructural improvements such as a new domestic water heater (2001), and brand new natural gas boiler (2013). Although not detailed in documentation, other obvious improvements by these owners include hardwood floors throughout the living areas (modern, not original), and new tile finishes and fixtures in both bathrooms. Most likely the entire kitchen was modestly re-done including new (Ikea I believe) cabinets. Modern, dual-paned, double-hung vinyl windows (Pella) are also recent.


As you can see, even without doing much heavy searching, one can get a great start on a thorough history of the house merely by going through the process of buying it-- we've looked at the real estate listing, the home inspection, and the deed here as sources of information. Although some of these revelations are not "historical" in the sense they did not occur many decades ago, even the recent alterations are part of the long history of the home.

You will also soon come to see that, had I been looking even closer, additional clues would have been apparent...

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