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With some time and effort, Westwood's living room has become a welcoming spot for family and friends.
The basement hearth still has the iron arm to hold pots over the fire and serves as a reminder of Westwood's early 19th-century roots.
The fireplace isn't used, but the shelves in the Roehls' daughter's bedroom are.
Uneven floors--note the tilting armoire--come with the territory in a house that was built in 1818.
The Roehls plan to remodel this remodeled bathroom.
Westwood looks much better |
BY RICHARD AMRHINE
Whoever settled on the land along Guinea Station Road and built a farmhouse there in 1818 might be surprised to know that the property is almost as isolated now as it was then.
They might also be surprised that the house is still standing after 190 years and, so many appreciative owners later, is undergoing another restoration.
Long before it was Leah and John Roehl's 65-acre horse farm known as Westwood, the property at 3918 Guinea Station Road was one of several plantations amid the rolling hills on the well-traveled Colonial route.
The original house was a typical two-over-two, with exterior brick chimneys on either end. There was one significant addition in the 1950s.
Westwood was once next door to another historic plantation, currently La Vista Bed and Breakfast, but they are now separated by the KOA campground. A short distance down the road was the Chandler farm, where a mortally wounded Gen. Stonewall Jackson was taken and lived his final days. Gen. Robert E. Lee had his friend carried to the Guinea area, some 20 miles from where he was wounded at Chancellorsville, because Lee knew he'd be out of harm's way.
LOVE FOR WESTWOOD
The Roehls acquired the property a few years ago and embarked on its restoration in November 2006.
"When we first came to look at it, it was hideous. That's the only way to say it," said Leah Roehl. "But I fell in love with it."
That was partly because of her lifelong love of horses, and the property had become an established horse farm with stables and barns. The reasonable price also made it too good a deal to pass up.
As the restoration has proceeded--it has been a learning experience for the couple--their appreciation for the house has grown and left them on the fence about their plans to resell it.
There is a lot for a horse-lover to love, and much of it was remodeled or renewed since 2007. The Roehls own or care for 15 horses at the farm.
The main, center-aisle barn has a tack room and eight stalls with heat lamps, including a foaling stall. There are huge indoor and outdoor arenas, a new two-stall cottage barn, plus another barn with four pony-size stalls. Four other large paddocks have new fencing.
About 50 of the 65 acres is open turnout space and pasture.
THE RESTORATION
The restoration has come a long way, but Leah Roehl admits there is plenty left to do in the three-bedroom, 21/2-bath house.
"We had a contractor come in who told us he could make this look like a new house," she said. "But that wasn't what we wanted. We're doing what we can ourselves."
"Ourselves" does include the help of some contractors, including interior designer and home stager Kate Koch of Simply Beautiful Spaces in Fredericksburg (simplybeau tifulspaces.com), who has made the house family-friendly without sacrificing its historic roots.
There are four stories, and the attic was in the best shape of all at the outset. It is reached by a typical, steep early 19th-century stairway, and serves as a finished bedroom with a full bathroom. It was in need of work to make it usable.
The main upper level, which, like the main level, has 10-foot ceilings, consists of two bedrooms and a full bathroom. Bringing those up to par quickly was a priority, and required a complete gutting of the bathroom--replacing the floor and installing all new fixtures.
The main level has a won-derful country/Colonial feel. In the living room, the Roehls repaired the plaster where feasible, repainted and refinished the floors. During previous restoration work, oak hardwood flooring was placed over the original heart pine.
Part of the home's charm is that the floors are anything but level, the door and window frames anything but square. Less costly alternatives to having replacement windows custom-made are being considered.
In 1952, an addition that includes the kitchen and an office was put on the rear of the house. The contractor, Melvin Scruggs, signed his work in the basement concrete floor. In 2007, the kitchen got new flooring, cabinets, fixtures and appliances.
The foyer presents one of the home's mysteries. Was it a porch originally, and then enclosed? That would seem likely, but the stairs land there, so maybe they once turned into the living room and were straightened when the foyer was created. The upstairs bathroom, which is directly above the foyer, was certainly added at some point.
In the basement is the original kitchen with a brick cooking hearth. A hammered-iron arm for holding cook pots still extends across the interior. Heavy hand-hewn beams and a brick foundation have kept the house standing strong for nearly two centuries.
Leah Roehl's dad has restored one basement room that will eventually become a bathroom.
Another basement room had been a family room, but moisture issues required all of the drywall to be ripped out. The room is dry now, and refinishing it is on the to-do list.
In addition to all of the above work, the house got a new roof and gutters last year, and all new interior light fixtures and ceiling fans. Plumbing and electrical systems have been replaced along the way.
Working on the house, maintaining the horse facilities, holding down full-time jobs and raising a young daughter keep the couple busy.
"We manage somehow," she said. "But you can't skip a day because then it will all get piled up."
Richard Amrhine: 540/374-5406
Email: ramrhine@freelancestar.com
To sell, or not to sell. The Roehls put Westwood on the market in May. It is listed with Kathy Danielson, an agent and horse-property specialist with Keller Williams Realty in Fredericksburg. The asking price is $1.295 million. Visit kathydanielson .com and click on "Westwood." With the real-estate market as it is, the property has attracted little interest. Meanwhile, the restoration has continued, and the couple have grown more attached "We've considered taking --Richard Amrhine |
