Evolution of a House

Evolution of a House. . , This farm was originally settled and developed by the Magruder family who lived here from 1734 to 1878. By 1778, Isaac Magruder built a one-story composite house of stone and log that was the original main block of the larger structure standing today. ❶, William Talbott purchased the property in 1864 from his father-in-law, Edwin Muncaster. Talbott constructed a two-story rear ell on the farm house. ❷ Added in the mid-1860s, the ell included a less formal living room on the first floor and two bedrooms uptairs., Thaddeus Bussard acquired the farm in 1888. Ten years later, Thaddeus demolished the old Magruder block (see 1) but retained the attached mid-19th-century kitchen. ❸ Today, the foundation of the late 18th-century structure still exists under the larger, two-story house. ❹ Of vernacular design, it had Victorian features such as a bay window and elaborately turned front porch posts., When Harry Bussard renovated the house in the 1940s, he replaced the original porch posts with a less ornate square boxed design. The same architectural touch was added to the new porch he put on the kitchen façade. ❺ Inside, the kitchen was also updated with new electrical appliances. The family enjoyed another modern convenience when Harry installed indoor plumbing (bathrooms). Until that time, the family utilized an outdoor outhouse that was purchased from Sears-Roebuck., Parks began renovation efforts in the late 1970s , by removing the then dilapidated mudroom and the brick veneer off the kitchen exterior walls that Harry and his son installed. ❻ The goal was to take the entire house , inside and out , back to its early 20th century appearance. ❼,

When the property was advertised for sale in 1878, the notice identified "a large and comfortable frame dwelling house…The farm is located in a community noted for its thrift, intelligence and enterprise, and for all the qualities that make up good society."

, [Captions:] , Parks remodeled the Kitchen to reflect its 1940s appearance, complete with checkerboard linoleum., The window in the kitchen gable end was previously a door allowing outside entry into the loft by way of an outside staircase, African American hired farm hands accessed their living space above the kitchen ca. 1960s-1970s., The house paint colors of green and white was chosen based on family oral histories ca. 2015.