Old Homes Need Families

Uniontown, PA is a wonderful small town located on Historic Route 40. To drive through downtown takes you back to a kinder, more gentile day when people weren't in such a rush to get from place to place never stopping to smell the roses, enjoy the architecture, walk through the streets conversing with one another.

Our trip to this quaint little town was to see an 1893 Queen Anne Victorian which we wanted to restore. We drove toward Uniontown on Historic Route 40 through Farmington. The view coming down the mountain from Farmington was breathtaking. As we drove into Uniontown we were amazed to find a substantial number of Victorian Era homes lining the streets for as far as the eye could see. We approached slowly, eyes wide with wonder. Could there possibly be this many historic homes in one area? We met the realtor and took several hours looking at the home we had driven from South Carolina to see.

After viewing and photographing the home we came to look at and thanking the wonderful realtor who took so much time from his schedule to let us thoroughly investigate the home we proceeded to drive around this small town. The streets were lined with lovely old Victorian Era homes, very few of which had been kept up. There were homes that had been completely restored, such as the Nutt House, and were wonderful tributes to the days of elegance.

There are so many old homes, not just from the Victorian Era but others Eras as well, that have been neglected and abused and revamped into apartments. These old homes were built with the quality and integrity of days long gone. They have good strong bones that have held them up for untold years. These could be viable homes for people willing to put the sweat equity to restore them. You will find I speak very lovingly of these old homes because we are in the process of restoring the Queen Anne we came to Uniontown to see.

A considerable number of homes built 100 or more years ago are still standing, though most are neglected and later demolished. This can be stopped. These homes need some love and care, especially those as neglected and abused as the one we are restoring. We chose our fine old "painted lady" because she had been vacant for more than 10 years, at one point had been condemned (due to a fire escape from the third floor apartment not being in place), was pillaged of her hardware, walnut and oak mantles, solid oak and walnut doors and stained glass windows. And still with all those things taken from her she was the most beautiful home I had ever seen.

These old homes are monstrous in size. They could easily be converted back into single family residences, transformed into elegant restaurants, restored as businesses on the first level with living space on the second. The possibilities are endless. Most Victorian homeowners, in this area at least, have converted them into apartment buildings. As we all know most tenants do not care for a home the way an owner would and thus the home will deteriorate. Once it's deteriorated to a certain point the owners can no longer rent out apartments and they eventually become vacant and down the road uninhabitable.

This is a vicious cycle that can be stopped. These old homes were built by men who took pride in their work. They built homes for families to live in and to hand down to their children and their grandchildren. The old homes here, in Uniontown, are large, spacious homes begging for people to come and bring life back to them.

Homes built with pride and integrity have withstood the test of time. These homes need to be cared for, restored and reclaimed. Finding an old home to restore is an exciting adventure for the entire family. My husband and I and our two children, 8 and 10, are thoroughly enjoying each and every moment we spend together bringing our lovely old "painted lady" back to her glory days. Restoration can be an expensive process, unless you're willing to put in the work yourself. Most of these old homes require furnace and/or boiler attention as well as roofing. The sales prices of most of these older homes is well below what you would get a mobile home for. So even if you outsource the roofing, plumbing, heating and cooling you will still have a home for much less than the purchase of a new home today. Check with HUD for "handyman special" loans!

Restoration of older homes gives you an opportunity to bring your family closer together as you all participate in making the home yours. It is a gratifying experience for families willing to "put it all out there" and restore one of these fine old homes. Let's not forget our past, but preserve it for our children.