Our home

Our home is a stone cottage built in 1866. In 1978 it was listed in the Library of Congress as one of the remaining examples of rural “Carpenter Gothic” architecture.

What is “Carpenter Gothic”? This is a modest style notable for hand-carved, decorative wood embellishments. Our house displays this style with decorative barge-board, trim, and a hand-carved rising sun over the porch.

It is known as the Lucretia Cox House. According to local lore the home had a lingering reputation as a “house of ill-repute”. (Ahem). The lady of the house, Lucretia, was known to entertain men who worked on the nearby railroad. But back-up: before we get to the slap and tickle, the house was built by John Engleman.

John Engleman built the Sears House. This house still stands on Staunton’s Sears Hill district.

Now why did (married!) John Engleman leave his house to Lucretia and her two kids instead of his own family?

(In fairness: maybe Lucretia was a great storyteller?!)

The home was renovated in the 1970s. It has been a rental home ever since. There are several features we would like to change. (Like hideous paint, and the bathtub in the front yard?!)

Our goal is to beautify the house on par with Lucretia’s wishes. What could those be? We’ll find out. I take it that any woman whose reputation lasted 150 years will let us know… somehow.

All of this is warm-up for a much larger and more ambitious renovation project. We’ll be slowly working on an 1891 Victorian. Current condition pictured below (Spring 2008).

We live in the Newtown district of Staunton, Virginia.

Staunton is nestled in the beautiful Shenendoah Valley. Why Staunton? We feel Staunton fits the requirements of those seeking a “New Ruralism” experience. Come for a visit, read this blog, join our social network, or watch our progress online.

katie @ April 21, 2008