Story time

Every time a house changes hands there is a back story. Most are pretty standard, people need to move, families grow, then they shrink. Sometimes it is sad, someone passes unexpectedly, jobs are lost, or people fall out of love. But sometimes it is different; it is good and exciting! That is what just recently happened, so why not share. We can all use a good story.

Probably two years ago I learned a former neighbor – Marjie – was going to need to sell her aunt’s historic home in King William County. Anyone that has crossed the Pamunkey from Hanover into King William absolutely knows this home but likely knows little to nothing of its history. The farmland in and of itself is beautiful, but the star of Wyoming – the shining light on the hill – has always been the majestic white clapboard farmhouse with the red tin roof sitting on a bluff overlooking the farm’s sprawling fields. Marjie has been living in Ohio most of her adult life, but I have childhood memories of her coming home to visit her parents, our neighbors. Marjie was close to my mother’s age and she would talk with Mom while Patrick (Marjie’s son) and I would see what we could get into outside. There were not any other kids in the area, so having Patrick around for a few weeks in the summer was always a treat.

Fast forward to 2018, my sister calls to say Marjie is back in town and needs to sell Aunt Dot’s “old” house. To be precise, “old” meant 1791…merely a few years after key events in the nascent years of our United States: fifteen years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, eight years after the British surrender at Yorktown, two years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and during GEN George Washington’s first term as President. Wyoming is on the Virginia Historic Register as well as the National Historic Register as it bore witness to Union troops crossing the Pamunkey en route to the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek and, later, the Battle of Cold Harbor.

Aunt Dot had passed a few years earlier and her will put the land in a conservation easement so it will be forever farmed, never developed. This left the house and approximately 5 acres that needed to be sold.

Any house, no matter how well built or maintained during the years will start to deteriorate if no one lives in it. The outside starts to come in and little openings become highspeed transit routes for wind, moisture, or little critters. At our first meeting, Marjie shared the situation, chiefly that lawyers were still working on easements and that the house had historical significance and would need to be maintained as such. Lastly, we agreed that with the amount of work that would be needed, we would sell the property “AS IS.” I shared with her that I had never sold such a property, but we both felt that with our mutual history and trust that we would take this journey together.

During the next two years Marjie would come down 2 to 3 times a year to spend a week or so at the house. Fortunately, the estate was paying for a house sitter that would spend three nights a week in the house and feed the “Mouser” cat that had been Aunt Dot’s. There was little to do as the lawyers were working on dividing the property for family members and

arranging the conservation easement. We did bring in a landscaping crew to remove brush from around some of the outbuildings and the fence line in the front of the house – a major improvement.

Spring of 2020 found us getting closer to thinking we would be able to list the house within a matter of months. We arranged to have photos taken and a drone fly several passes around the house. It was a warm April day and the winter wheat in the fields was a bright deep green, contrasting well with the bright white and red of the house. As mentioned earlier, the house was going to be listed AS IS and we felt we had it reasonably priced for not only the condition but also for the potential it offered. Early on we had hoped a local wedding/event coordinator might be interested in buying Wyoming for use as a venue. Unfortunately, the conservation easement precluded several updates necessary to accommodate large groups. With the amount of work needed and the historical requirements, we believed we had to find a history-loving buyer with deep pockets.

The pace of action ramped up as we got closer to listing. Marjie came down and labeled items that neighbors or friends had asked for. I started asking some of my antique contacts what they thought regarding the furniture and other items. The house had some great pieces throughout, but unfortunately homes today are not built with grand hallways or parlors. The furniture really went with the house and had few other options. There were also a couple of old tools and farm devices left in the basement and this led to our big break.

Rick is a friend and retired 32-year shop teacher. His passion is wood working and old hand tools. He has helped me in the past when I had sellers with “stuff” that we did not know what to do with. He has purchased items or given suggestions on how to distribute tools. In fact, at one location, he set up a private showing for my partner when she was listing a major wood worker’s home. Anyway, I called Rick and I believe had to put some pressure on him to come “all the way out to King William” to look at these items.

I met Rick mid-morning on a cool and windy November day. I mention the temperature because Rick only wears shorts. You need to ask him, I cannot explain. But we stayed outside for fifteen minutes as he peppered me with questions – like a duck hunter trying to reach his bag limit – regarding the property. It was a slow day, so I did not mind, but gosh it was cold out! After the initial conversation he pulled out his phone and called his wife Denise at home. I don’t always remember exact conversations, but I remember his side: “Get dressed. You need to see this. You do not have to shower; it’s only me and Nat. Denise, grab your camera, get in the car and get out here!” At this point I knew this was not going to be a typical tool shopping visit…

To complete the story, Rick and Denise have a son, Ryan, who is a 2015 VMI graduate. Now, you need to know that I graduated in 1989, so I have followed Ryan’s cadetship and career closely. Rick shared that Ryan had recently accepted a job at Fort A.P. Hill and was driving back from the Northwest where he had been working.

I will complete the story by sharing that Ryan’s brother is a local realtor and picked the ball up once Ryan got home and saw the house. The funny part is that Ryan knew about the house from his many bike rides in King William when he was younger. Ryan was a history major at VMI and unlike most twenty-somethings did not want to live in the Fan or Short Pump.

The family has embraced the challenges of renovating a 200+ year old farmhouse. They purchased all the furniture and plan on using what they can to maintain the historic feel. Ryan has started an Instagram account @ftgoatsatwyoming to document Wyoming’s rebirth. I’m looking forward to his blog as they describe the trials and joys of renovating their “new” home.