Renovation leads to discoveries

A year ago, to the month, the wallpaper-removal project in my circa 1810 dining room was begun and after a few weeks was pushed to the back burner, but not before several discoveries were recorded.

Unlike the remarkable inscriptions found on the walls of the Graffiti House in Brandy Station, there were no tantalizing messages etched on the walls.

It was gratifying to confirm the location of windows and doors that had been hidden for the past 100 years. The hands-on lesson in architecture and building methods was surpassed only by the glimpse into the life of the previous residents: their economics, decorating preferences and priorities. But what a mess!

Thousands of tiny pieces of paper settled in every imaginable crevice. The cleanup was so incredibly laborious, that the inspiration mandated to restart the project has remained at bay until last week.

Oh, well, blame it on the doldrums of winter, the need to have an indoor project that necessitates physical movement enabling a lower setting on the lifesavings-sucking- thermostat, or a reoccurring desire to restore the premises to guest-worthy status.

The mess is back tempered by the revelations of a few new discoveries: a solid wall existed where there is now a door between the kitchen and dining room; what was suspected to be a window was most likely the back door on the original exterior wall; and the vintage wallboard that closed these openings was covered by not one but three layers of wallpaper. Oddly, nowhere else in the room is there evidence of more than one layer.

“Made in USA” is printed on the edge of the oldest layer. A preliminary search of the Internet has provided nada: no similar patterns, no estimation of age, or manufacturer.

Descendants of the earlier owners remembered a one story, shed-roofed addition off the dining room that served as the kitchen. Presumably, this room would have been accessed by the original “back door.” So when was it boarded and the current doorway created?

Frankly, I do not know the answer yet. Not to leave anything to memory, everything is being recorded in photos and written descriptions.

In the oldest version of the house, the stairs to the second floor were positioned in what is now the dining room. Logically, they were removed and the room drastically renovated when the addition was added to the front of the house, but the date remains elusive.

The house was constructed with matching stone chimneys on each gable end; only one remains. Records support the age of the original house to be at least 200 years old, but the current roof is indicative of a more recent build date (mid to late 1800s).

Recently, a world-class cabinetmaker and an expert in woods and historic houses paid me a visit. We explored the house from crawl space to attic. He suggested some very interested theories.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

Until next week, be well.

Zann Nelson is an award-winning freelance writer specializing in historical investigations. She is president of the preservation nonprofit organization, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, Inc. and resides on a farm in Culpeper,VA. She can be reached at M16439@aol.com or c/o The CSE 471 James Madison Highway, Suite 201Culpeper, Va. 22701.