In an earlier column I mentioned my enthusiasm about the potential of next year’s calendar offering of the Bridgeville Area Historical Society (BAHS); now that I am in possession of my own copy, I am pleased to report that that potential has been achieved. Focused on historic residences in Bridgeville, it is indeed a “keeper”. The calendars are currently on sale for ten dollars at the History Center, corner of Station and Railroad Streets, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. They are certainly excellent candidates for a Christmas gift for anyone with a local connection, whether here or in the Bridgeville diaspora.
So, why all the fuss about a calendar? I would be the first to confess that it is largely subjective. I am a big fan of old houses and a proponent of preserving them. Recently my daughter Beth and I had the opportunity to tour the McClurg Museum in Westfield, New York, while enjoying an autumn weekend at Chautauqua. It is housed in a twenty-four room Federal-style mansion built in 1818 by Pittsburgh industrialist James McClurg. The Chautauqua County Historical Society acquired it in 1951 and has lovingly maintained it and outfitted it with a tasteful collection of period furnishings, as well as an intriguing collection of antique household tools and implements.
My immediate reaction to our visit was gratitude that these folks had performed such a valuable service, coupled with regret that Bridgeville had allowed so many comparable historical residences to be demolished. In my lifetime we have witnessed destruction of the three Murray mansions, 745 Washington Avenue, and Dr. Fife’s home, any one of which would have provided a perfect venue for celebrating our community’s heritage. Perhaps this calendar’s focus on the importance of venerable residences will encourage us to take this into consideration the next time we hurry to tear down another historic house to facilitate building still one more parking lot.
Each of the first eleven months of the calendar is dedicated to a specific house that is at least one hundred years old and has been used solely as a family residence. Many of these are quite familiar to me. Several of the homes in the 200 block of Station Street were constructed in the early 1900s, including the Harmuth family homestead at 233 (March) and the small two-bedroom home across the street at 232 (January). February is an old favorite, 537 Station Street. A 1907 photograph of the Morgan sisters, Callie and Maggie, and their parrot, seated elegantly in front of it is featured in the BAHS book Bridgeville, on page 44. The house, originally owned by their father, Lysander Morgan, has been maintained immaculately by its current owners, Jim and Becky Wisbon. Sadly, it no longer boasts a parrot on a stand in the front yard.
Another pair of houses graces the intersection of Bank Street and Gregg Avenue. On the East corner, at 701 Bank Street, is the Samuel W. Patton residence (April), which dates back to 1893. Directly across Bank Street on the South corner at 702 Bank Street, is the Frank C. Mayer home (June), originally built in 1880. Mr. Mayer lived in that house in the 1930s and 1940s; its original occupants were the Harriott family. One block up Bank Street and halfway down the southeast side of Chestnut Street at 627 is another familiar house (July). According to the calendar it was built “before 1889” by the von Bonnhurst family, then sold to Elizabeth Spahr. It too has been well preserved, currently by the Gualazzi family.
Another block up Bank Street and halfway down the southeast side is 643 Elm Street (May), a magnificent three-story Victorian dated at 1880 and attributed to Lysander Foster. Perhaps the most intriguing house in the calendar is the McMillen house (September) at 623 Chartiers Street. Its current owner, John Schneider, believes it dates back to the 1820s. Not far from it is 641 Orchard Avenue (August) which we are told was built in 1886, undoubtedly as part of the “Jessie McMillen Plan”. Also nearby, at 711 Chartiers Street (October) is the home of the Crum family (John Schneider’s ancestors), also dated 1886. November completes the list with 626 Baldwin Street which is reported to have been built before 1900 and was occupied by the (Louis?) Colussy family before becoming the Grossi homestead.
December is the exception that proves the rule. The five houses depicted lack a decade of being one hundred years old but are historically unique in their own way. Between 1908 and 1942, Sears, Roebuck sold kits for the construction of houses, ordered from catalogs. The pieces were pre-cut and numbered, making it possible for a single carpenter (or talented ‘DIY’ homeowner) to “toe-nail” them together and build a house easily. A few years ago Larry Godwin did a project searching for Sears houses in Bridgeville and came up with the five featured in December. The William Hopper (in the 1930s and 1940s) house at 1069 Lafayette Street is one of them. Only four doors from our house, I was very familiar with Hoppers’ house. It was easily the equivalent of the other six room houses in the neighborhood internally, and probably more attractive than any of them externally.
The back cover of the calendar highlights two historic buildings that originally were residences but have survived as commercial properties – the “Murray” house at 423 Washington Avenue, originally built in 1830 and functioning today as “Antiques on Washington”; and the Samuel A. Foster house at 527 Station Street, constructed in the 1889s and today housing “Jerry’s Coiffures”. We are fortunate these two magnificent buildings are still alive and well.
What a remarkable slice of Bridgeville history this calendar celebrates! My enthusiasm has certainly been confirmed. Years from now people will be referring to it whenever the subject of historical homes comes up.