“This was probably my favorite house in the area,” Peters said. “I’ve loved every house I’ve done [renovated] over the years, but I would get done and get bored. I would rent it out or sell it right away. But this house is probably going to be the house they’re going to drag me out of.”
The home was built in 1884 by Benjamin Beaver with one side for his wife and the other for his daughter and new son-in-law. It was built in the Queen Anne style, but has some features that don’t necessarily follow the style exactly. Beaver built the home in solid brick masonry, which wasn’t normal for Queen Anne style homes.
It included some Victorian-era details, and since Beaver owned a contracting and supply company, he was able to create beautiful decorative additions that can be considered one-of-a-kind.
“There are 12 or 13 different species of wood in the house,” Peters said. “They liked to showcase all the different types of wood into their building strategy.”
All the woodwork in the home is original including the doors, floors and trim. Old black hand-embossed leather trim lines sections of the walls of the home. The home still has original stained-glass windows. The woodwork also extends to the porches outside. The trim on the outside of the home is painted in bright yellow and greens, which is a trend in houses in the Huffman Historic Area.
“That was a trend in Victorian houses,” Peters said. “They were called painted ladies and once they figured out how to pigment paint to all these bright colors, that became the fad at the time. So they did go wild, which is where the term came from. And technically, these old houses should be painted in a lot of different colors.”
The home also has an attic, 13 fireplaces and two carriage houses — now garages — in the back. Some additions were made in the 1920s. Some of the fireplaces feature Rookwood tiles from a company out of Cincinnati that is still in business. The tiles are upscale and have never been painted over, which is common in older homes.
“A lot of homes here have woodwork tiles. Rookwood tiles are very expensive. I always tell my younger buyers, ‘you may not like this tile, but leave it alone,’” Peters said laughing.
The home, has a long history with some events even making the news. In the early 1900s, the home was owned by James H. Horne, who was a businessman who was very prosperous in railcars. With the popularity of automobiles and then the Great Flood of 1913, his wealth diminished quickly.
Unfortunately, Horne couldn’t climb his way out of debt, and died in a tragedy: He shot his wife as she slept on July 15, 1922, and then shot himself. A note left for Horne’s sister read, “I know this will be a sad blow to you, but neither of us could leave each other behind in this world.”
In the early 1900s, a reverend claimed to be able to read palms and was part of a Spiritualist church in the area. He also conducted seances in the home. Through the Great Depression and World War II, the home had many owners and boarders.
At one time, 15 people in lived together in the home.
All of these pieces of history are what Peters loves so much about the home. He also grew up fixing up homes with his family.
“I just love the connection of the original builder and what they did downtown,” he said. “I’m happy to be the steward of this home. When I grew up my grandparents and parents had rental properties. I grew up around my grandpa always working on something with old houses.”
Currently, Peters lives on one side of the home. The other side was converted into two apartments, one upper and one lower, which he rents out to people. He has renovated around 12 properties in the area and said he loves the Huffman area.
“I like the location,” he said. “The location is awesome. It’s a real sense of community. It cracks me up when agents don’t do their research. There’s a misconception of St. Anne’s and Huffman being lumped into what’s called the historic inner east. People are saying, ‘it’s so up and coming over there.’ And I’m like, no it has been for a long time.”
For more information on the Huffman Historic District, visit www.historichuffman.org.
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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See photos of this historic Linden Avenue home in a photo gallery at daytondailynews.com.
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