THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300675
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
DON'T ASK Charlie or Jane Youngk how much time they've invested in bringing the 18th century Thomas Blow house back to its original condition in historic Smithfield.
Charlie Youngk, brother-in-law to Jane, estimates that he's hammered, sawed, knocked out walls and replastered to the tune of at least 1,000 hours since last March.
And Jane Youngk, owner with husband Paul, said she's spent just as many hours hammering out the details of what needed to be done to the Federal style house.
And husband Paul, well, he has endured.
``It needed to be restored and changed back,'' Jane Youngk said. ``It had been modernized, and I had always wanted to do this to a house.''
The Blow house, part of a historic tour for the Christmas in Smithfield celebration, will be open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The original house, built when Thomas Jefferson was president, had two upstairs rooms and a first-floor living room and dining room. A kitchen and smokehouse were in separate buildings outside the house.
Although the house was built for a small family, about 1837 a section containing the hall, a new stairway and a room above the stairs, a back porch and front entrance were added.
The artisans duplicated the wainscoting so that the living room and hall appeared to have been constructed at about the same time.
In the late 1800s, the back porch was made into a bedroom and a small kitchen was added and a door cut through to the dining room and a door from the dining room cut through to the hall.
And as each of the house's new owners - there have been 16 - moved in, several changes took place.
After the Youngks occupied the home last October, Jane Youngk said her first task was to remove wallpaper that had been on the walls for 45 years.
``The ceiling had been wallpapered,'' she said, ``and the wallpaper paste was seeping out of the wallpaper.''
The fireplace mantel in the dining room was also replaced after a long crack was found going down the middle of the board. Jane Youngk said a new piece was made, copying the mantel from another in the house.
Youngk noted that one interesting feature of the fireplace mantel in the dining room is a small shelf about 20 inches long that sat on the hearth where one lady of the house used to keep her sewing thimble.
But Youngk's biggest project was turning the small kitchen into a den and an old bedroom into a kitchen.
The small kitchen on the back of the house was a 12- by 12-foot room that was too small to turn into the kitchen Jane Youngk wanted. So, the little room became a sitting room.
Then, an old bedroom, which had a view of the water in the back of the house, had to be completely outfitted for a kitchen.
``I designed the kitchen the way I wanted it to be,'' Jane Youngk said. While there is plenty of cabinet space in the kitchen, there is also plenty of room for old antiques, like an old German cupboard, that add to the period.
``The hardest part in the renovation was living in the house while the work was being done,'' Jane Youngk said. ``There was no heat in April, and Paul was trying to sleep during the day while Charlie was ripping out walls.''
``We were living in dust, dirt, dark and cold,'' Paul Youngk said. ``And you haven't lived until you've tried to sleep soundly with the walls coming down and a nail gun going off around you.
``But when many, many new structures have fallen down in this town, this will still be standing,'' he said.
Jane Youngk said one of the main attractions of the old house are the heart pine floors.
``The floors are 200 years old. And they're made from trees that are between 300 to 500 years old. They're not pieced together. The boards are all the same length of the floor. And each board is more than an inch thick,'' she said.
The Youngks removed two layers of flooring to uncover their treasured old floors.
Jane Youngk said her love for old things began when she was 12 and she began collecting old horse prints.
``My mother had had pretty furniture and loved collecting antiques. I started going with her and looking at antiques. And she always said, `Don't go out and buy stuff to fill up your house. Wait and buy things that are nice - buy antiques. They'll always be appreciated.' ''
And this year, those taking the Christmas in Smithfield tour will get to see and appreciate all the work that's been done in the house.
Jane Youngk said she plans to decorate the house with traditional decorations for the Christmas tour.
``It will be a major job to do it, but I'll get through it with the help of some very talented neighbors,'' she said.
Youngk said only the first floor of the house will be open on the tour. The second floor, which has not been renovated yet, will be roped off to the public.
``The upstairs, with only two rooms, won't require a lot of work. We need to wallpaper and paint. But there won't be any plastering,'' she said.
In a nine-page history of the Thomas Blow house, Elsie H. Cox, the longest resident of the house from 1925 to 1978, wrote a note to future owners: ``We ask that you restore rather than modernize this old house. Any further additions will destroy its unique charm. We brought up our children here and we lived happily here for many years. May you be happy, too. We hope you will be interested in keeping it as it is. I implore you not to change the upstairs rooms, the living room and dining room. The front windows always bothered us.
``The wainscoting should never have been cut. The kitchen and downstairs bedroom may be changed without affecting the main part of the house. Unless you love old houses, you do not want this one.''
Jane Youngk said bringing a house like the Thomas Blow House back to its original form was something she's lived her whole life to do.
Holding Elsie Cox's letter in her hand, Jane Youngk said: ``I hope she knows that I'm taking care of her house for her. She really loved it. It was the place she raised her family.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The home of Jane and Paul Youngk, at 352 S. Church St., was changed
by many of the 16 families that lived in it since it was originally
built during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.
Paul Youngk reads in the kitchen. Originally the kitchen and
smokehouse were in separate buildings.
Jane Youngk opens doors that were found in the attic. The wall had
been closed in an earlier remodeling.
The dining room features floors of heart pine. The Youngks removed
two layers of flooring to uncover them.
Graphic
TOUR GUIDE
Christmas in Smithfield is billed as one of the top 20 events in
the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. Festivities began
Nov. 19 with an arts and crafts show in downtown Smithfield and
continue each weekend with planned activities that end Jan. 1 with
the celebration of Kwanzaa, an African-American celebration.
Four sites will be included on the Christmas in Smithfield
historic tour: the re-created James River Lighthouse at Smithfield
Station restaurant; St. Luke's Church off Route 10 in Isle of Wight;
the Thomas Blow House, 352 S. Church St.; and the Goodrich House, at
334 South Church St.
The trolley shuttle departs from the antique show, another of the
Christmas in Smithfield events. No times are scheduled. The Blow
house will be open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. And the
Goodrich house and the lighthouse are open from noon to 5 p.m. on
Sunday.
There will also be a special candlelight tour of the two old
homes from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is $2.50 per
home.
Women should not wear high heels or spike heels, which could
damage soft, old floors.
The trolley bus will shuttle from the antique show to all the
tour buildings.
by CNB