“I had a dream about the Sisters of the Precious Blood and a house that they lived in,” she said. “I’m not Catholic. I know very little about the sisters of anything.”
Shortly after that, a friend told her about a house for sale, so Townsend visited the house and asked for a tour. A man showed her the house, and while on the tour, Townsend asked, “Who lived here before?”
The man’s reply?
“The Sisters of the Precious Blood.”
Soon after, Townsend purchased the home on Central Avenue and began working on it. Townsend admitted to being a little naïve taking on such a large home project on her own, but she was determined to make the house a home.
“I’ve loved it,” she said. “I never felt like I owned the house. I am a steward. I feel like my great-grandparents even speak to me through this house. There’s such history and everything’s unique. And there’s such warmth. From the doorknobs to just all of it.”
The home was built in the Queen-Anne style with a coursed limestone foundation. The home has seven bedrooms, five on the second floor and two on the third floor. Townsend had the original plaster fixed in the home and the electricity had to be rewired. It was still knob and tube up until 1995, when Townsend purchased the house. Townsend ripped out the kitchen herself and repositioned it.
The entire home features original lighting, built-ins and original floors. There is a half bath on the first floor and a full bath on the second and third floors. The second-floor bathroom includes the original bathtub and tiles.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
The plumbing in the home was redone with the option to add another bathroom on the second floor. Townsend wanted to put her mark on the home, but make sure the next owner could put their own spin on it.
“Anybody that’s going to move here is probably going to want to put another bathroom in,” she said. “I felt like if you do everything else, what you’re leaving is you’re leaving a project, so somebody can put their personality [on the home] … what I tried to do is set this house up for when I leave, they can take it to the next level.”
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
The home also features four separate outdoor spaces. Townsend put in a balcony that overlooks the nicely landscaped backyard. Townsend the outdoor spaces are important to her because they allow her to enjoy the home in different ways, whether on the balcony or in one of screened-in patios.
“I love balconies,” she said. “This is so great in the summertime to up here drinking a margarita and it’s very pretty … I left the ends so that the visual from the street looks original.”
The house was originally built in 1901 for Francis Canby, son of Edward Canby. Edward was a member of the business that eventually became Crawford, McGregor and Canby, who sold golf clubs at the turn of the century. Before golf clubs, the business used to carve wooden footwear lasts that were used to repair shoes. This history also connects specifically to Townsend.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
“I have always been into shoe design … because I have a big foot,” she said. “I started getting some of these [shoe lasts] before I even moved here. And then when I moved here, I found out that these people made shoe lasts. I’m like, what??”
It seems that purchasing the home was just meant to be for Townsend. However, while she loves the home, she recently put it up for sale and it sold pretty quickly. Townsend is ready to retire from her job as a massage therapist and wants to do more traveling. Also, the sheer size of the home is hard to take care of and she is looking forward to having less maintenance projects to worry about.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
Townsend has always loved historic homes since she was young, and she will always cherish the 30 years she had in the property at 300 Central Ave. She knows that she has done her best to prepare the home for the next stage of its life.
“When you live in a house like this, the difference between new, is you’re adapting to this house, to live in this kind of beauty and ambience,” she said. “You don’t try to make an old house new. You just make a few little changes to make it more livable for you, but you keep it as is. Keep the integrity as it is and enjoy it just for that.”
TIMELESS DAYTON
The Dayton Daily News wants to share stories of historic homes and the journeys of restoration. Reach out to Reporter Jessica Graue at jessica.graue@coxinc.com.
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