This late Georgian to early Federal period home is a two-story stone house with 18" to 24" thick walls of double coursed interlocking limestone with rubble fill on a high base. The inside end chimneys are constructed of limestone and brick. The three-on-three floor plan consists of a large rectangular room to the south with a central fireplace, and two small square rooms to the north, each with its own corner fireplace. Two enclosed winding staircases on the south provide access to the second floor and attic. The interior framing is characterized as English, due to its centrally located Summer Beams that run the length of the house along with binding and trimming joists.
Attached to the south (left in the photos above) is a 1.5 story limestone cook house (winter kitchen) that features a large walk-in cook fireplace.
Beneath ground level on the south end of the main house is a stone cellar, presumably intended as a food storage area. The cellar is accessed on the south by a wooden door which is original to the house and dates to the fourth quarter 18th century. Just inside the exterior cellar door is a large exposed wooden framing member that bears the stamped initials, "GC" as shown in the photo below. This photo has not been rotated, the initials are situated at a right angle as shown here.
The main entranceway, which originally included the transom, was widened during the Greek Revival period for the placement of flanking sidelights. Beneath the front soffit of the main house is a “Wall of Troy” cornice molding (see next two photos). The molding is original with the exception of a replaced six-foot long section on the north side.
Close up detail of the Wall of Troy cornice molding:
The windows are single-hung, wood-sash with nine-over-six on the first floor and six-over-six on the second. The north and south elevations have two-over-two windows on the attic level. A southern exposure narrow eight light fixed wood-sash window provides light into the enclosed staircase leading from the first to second floor. Two small windows located at ground level provide light and air into the cellar. Jack arches can be found over five first floor windows and two doors.
Photo below: Lower front elevation of a first period window frame and Jack Arch, prior to the removal of Portland cement.
The interior of the house is framed with three 30’ long, 10" x 12" summer beams that are centrally located and extend the length of the house. They are situated beneath the first, second, and attic floors. The lowermost beam is made of oak with oak binding joists, the second floor and attic "summers" (as they were often referred to in 18th c. vernacular) are made of yellow pine with pine binding joists. All binding joists are approximately 24" on center. Each joist/summer intersection is a mortise and tenon held by an oak peg and marked with small Roman numerals that are hidden by flooring. The opposite ends of the binding joists extend into the exterior walls and are secured by a method unknown as of this writing. The first floor summer contains paint residue of the same color as the vertical wallboards, which suggest that it was painted during the 18th century.
Photo above: "English" frame consisting of summer beam, binding and trimming joists.
Photo below: Simulated washboard (or mopboard), original black paint with gray overpaint. This was an 18th and early 19th century practice in the Shenandoah Valley in lieu of attached baseboards. Other interior walls in the house display the same treatment. It is believed that the green is first quarter 19th century. Beneath the green is an 18th century bold Prussian blue over a Spanish brown primer. This wall is to the right of the parlor fireplace, as seen in the photo above.
Photo below: Two offset parlor doors, left door (leading to the upstairs) with original 18th c. blue paint, and right door (leading down to the cellar) with 19th c. grain painting. When the house was purchased in 2002, there was a recessed built-in bookcase where the interior cellar door is now. Owner Dan Pinnell found the grain painted door stored in the attic and soon returned it to its proper place. The green paint above the grain painted door is also original, an early 19th c. application. The Pinnells painted and distressed the steps themselves, in order to complete the overall look of the room.
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Upstairs are three bedrooms, two of which are used as guest rooms.
Southwest bedchamber:
Northeast bedchamber:
The wardrobe shown here is reportedly from the nearby Lincoln family homestead, where it was purchased at auction in the 1960s. Since it does not break down into sections, the wardrobe remains where it was originally placed by the former owners (they raised it up from below before the flooring was completed in this room).
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