c. 1900 – Lackawaxen, PA
SOLD / Archived From 2016
Added to OHD on 3/22/16 - Last OHD Update: 2/14/18 -
100 Comments
Address Withheld
Map: Street View
$14,900- 3 Beds
- 1.5 Bath
- 3172 Sq Ft
- 1.05 Ac.
Walk to the Delaware River from this 100 yr. old home needs lots of work but priced to Sell! DO NOT ENTER the house (unsafe) until some work can be done to make it safe to enter.
Sold By
Thomas Kelly, Coldwell Banker 570-226-2131 Links & Additional Info
100 Comments on c. 1900 – Lackawaxen, PA
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Chestatee, GA
I know someone will think it but it isn’t a rabbit left in a cage on the bed. It’s either a basket turned upside down or some kind of wire holder and then a dirty shirt or trash showing through.
It does look like a rabbit. That’s creepy…
Oh, that poor piano. The tree is the least creepy thing about this place.
Oh my goodness does this house need a lot of love, but she is a beauty. Any word on the background on this one? Did someone pass away? Were there people squatting? All the liquor bottles and water damage (ugh), or just abandoned? Man oh man. Looks like there are probably some very cool treasures left behind as well…as a musician, that piano just breaks my heart! 🙁
Did a storm do all the damage – there are some very nice things left in the house – it looks like it was someones home – very sad.
I wonder if any of the furniture is salvageable. I’ve always wondered why houses filled with furniture are just left. I guess there were probably no children or grandchildren to take it over.
That is so darn creepy. Everything just left.
Would love to know the story of this house. I see old furniture that could be beautiful with a good cleaning and polish. Love the kitchen, the sink and the cabinets. Someone will have a handful with this house, but what a beauty this could be!
Looks like someone just left and didn’t come back.
God, it looks just like those abandoned house videos I watch a lot on Youtube. That poor house! 🙁 I want that kitchen sink!!!!!
I laughed when I saw the endust and pledge, because the house needs far more than that. Then I saw all the pictures still hung on the fridge and it just seemed really depressing.
Chestatee, GA
A search turns up the owner died in 2007. link to FindAGrave.com
Owner died at home. Relatives probably didn’t want to go through his belongings. There are some really nice things inside; roll top desk, buffet, the kitchen sink and glass door cupboards, dresser, floor lamp, etc. A lot of water damage in that house.
There was a Sheriff’s Sale here last month on a $61K bank judgement. The house was apparently in pretty good shape a few years back and the estate has just ruined it and lost all the value, probably 20 times the price now. Very sad, but an opportunity for someone to clean it out and fix it up.
The tree out front looks like the one from the movie The Conjuring!! Other than that, we are good to go lol!!
It’s sad that all of the possessions, photos, mementos & memories of the previous deceased owners are sitting there decaying. Everything that tells a story about the lives lived there.
I LOVE that kitchen sink. I hope someone is able to restore this house.
This house gives me the heebie jeebies. Not sure why. What a mess. Such a project, but there is still hope.
I bet the owner is still hanging around this place for sure !!
Thank you Kelly for letting us know that we were not seeing a bunny in the cage. But my eyes must be playing a trick on me because in the photo with the black toliet seat it looks like a face of a man in the toliet tank. Yikes
I just had to go back and take a look, and although it never caught my eye the first time scrolling through, it sure did when I went looking for it!!! WEIRD!! Looks like a face that belongs on some money or something!
Chestatee, GA
Some people have such a good eye! I would never have seen it. Looks like Vincent van Gogh.
I see the man’s face in the toilet tank, too. Very strange…,,
I’m rubbing my hands together right now! Would love to have a go at this house. I agree there are several nice pieces in the house and the kitchen could be a dream with that sink.
Reminds me of that scene in Slingblade where he goes home after 30 years in a mental hospital to the home he grew up in and finds his father ( Robert duvall ) living in a total mess and broken down house…..so yes CREEPY
Definitely NOT for the faint of heart but looks like it would be worth the effort in the end.
Would love to see Chip and JoAnna Gaines of HGTV FIXER UPPER get hold of this house and redo…….What a challenge.
Unfortunately, they would just rip out anything of the original character that remains and make it look exactly like every other house they do.
Rehab Addict Nicole would restore this place perfectly!!
I would love to take this house on. I lived in NJ At one time close to the Delaware. I wonder if the river ever flooded the house? It must have a basement but no pics. Its lot of work but still some cool things in the house if the 14,900 included all the junk. Wish I was closer love the kitchen with the glass doors. I’ve got 2 houses to save on my plate right now. I’m starting those at the end of this month, wish I could take another one on.
When the description said Do Not Enter I figured there would be no interior photos. I’m glad someone ws brave enough to go in and take pictures! The kitchen is the best part of this house as far as I can tell. Too much mess for me for sure. I admire whoever takes this on.
What a great project. It would be fun to clean up so you could see what to do first. I am sure the roof would be a good start.
What I’m wondering is how does a place that has so obviously recently been lived in (I mean there’s balloons blown up!!Well maybe open house?)get sooo trashed?!Doesn’t appear to be vandals as tons of food is left in the kitchen. I also noticed brand new bedding in a bag on one of the beds for pete sake. (I never found the rabbit one commented)
I’m super interested in this one. Just called the realtor and she is showing it and will call me back afterwards. I love everything about it!!! She said she is not allowed to take the couple into the house, they can only look through the windows, into the house. They said they are not afraid of old houses and I’m afraid they will buy it, since they have first dibs on it. They are serious and are driving from 2 hours away to see it. It is a 2 hour drive for me, too. I LOVE THIS HOUSE!!!! She is calling me back afterwards to tell me about the foundation, heating, taxes and roof (and if they are buying it). I think just the back part of the roof needs replacing and a few pieces of wood on the outside. I realize the windows need work, but I see so much potential in this one….one funny thing, in the middle of the conversation, we got cut off, called her back and we both said it had to be the ghost of the man who died in there.
Chestatee, GA
Oh, let us know how it goes! I hope if people are looking at the house it’s to consider saving it and not demolishing it.
p.s. I asked her to check on the rabbit and to let me know if it is a toy or if it was a real bunny. She thinks it is a toy, but she will find out and let us know.
Chestatee, GA
Yeah, I figured it has to be trash. Maybe it is a toy though, if it were a real rabbit it would have been…well, flatter by now.
There looks like a creepy doll hanging in the kitchen.
This could be a beautiful house again. The kitchen! Love that sink and the glass front cupboards. I wonder what kind of treasures they hold? It really is sad to see all the stuff left behind. All I can think is that this was once a family’s home.
Someone needs to make sure that bunny is ok or lay it to proper rest. house has promise but needs a lot of love, someone driven to get started.
Please keep Chip and Jo away from this house, she will tear out every nice wood rail and replace it with wrought iron, lol. (I can say that, I live in McGregor.)I myself am one of those that like the restoring to be period correct, not modern. That said, they have saved many a lovely home, which I can and do appreciate. Anyway, this house is mesmerizing for sure! I love that kitchen sink too! It’s that a baby doll hanging from the ceiling…I would gladly take this house as is, furnishings and hanging doll included. What an adventure!
I thought the EXACT same thing!!!!!! Walls would come down, all those gorgeous cabinets in the kitchen and wonderful sink…would be replaced and thrown out.
I agree completely with you Shari73. Keep C & J away as well as the Property Bros! I saw the hanging doll. Indeed creepy, but might be a kitchen witch. Either way…weird.
This house to me looks like someone came in and told the occupants that the secret police were on their way. Get out with what you must have, go through an grab everything that’s important, leave the rest behind.
It’s sinister and yet so sad. Love the little wicker writing desk and the roll top desk. Hope someone can save it.
I cant imagine going through all of the things left in that house…pretty sure there are some treasures and a lot of mice I would bring my two cats and my jack Russell and let them go to town killing mice. It looks like a lot of work but that kitchen is wonderful
Lots to love here if you have the courage. The kitchen cabinets are a selling point by themselves! The owner sounds like a very nice man; what a shame nobody cared enough to clean out & sell his lovely house before it fell on such hard times. Donations requested to the Humane Society — that makes me like him right away. If his ghost IS around, I’m sure he’ll help a buyer who wants to restore it to its old self.
This house has great bones despite the rotten roof. It’s amazing what a huge dumpster in the front yard can do to help the inside of a house. It’s charming, such a sad story, but I’m surprised it’s taken this long for something positive to happen to it. That’s the town’s fault.
Well, here is the update…they are signing a waiver so they can actually go inside. They are in the construction business and are very interested. They are going back to see it on Monday. I feel that if it has possibility, then they will take it and if it is totally ruined, that they wouldn’t buy it…so either way, I lose. She said the floor is bowed, but I don’t think it needs replacing. My heart skipped a beat when I saw this and of course all that glorious “stuff” in there. She said there are several outbuildings and at least one of them needs to come down…so I guess it will be left to someone with deeper pockets than I have.
God lead me to a fixer way worse than this diamond. It had not been lived in for 50 years. All the furniture. Same story. Tear-out, roof, many layers of wall papers and flooring. Old coins turned up. The kitchen smelled like bear fat. I was nearing 50 years old doing this old house. Slowly, steadily. Praying all the way. I paid $2,400. for it. Sold it for $145,000. after living in it and having many good times there. This house only looks bad to the eyes now. It will be beautiful. The work is fun.
The dishes in the glass front kitchen cabinets just break my heart. Someone obviously took great pride in placing them there years ago. Someone’s whole life is in this poor old house.
I think it would look a lot less overwhelming if all the salvageable things were put in a storage pod in the yard and anything else thrown away. Once that’s done, it might look a little more manageable as to what needs to be fixed first (assuming the rain damage from leaky roof). Will need one huge list of to-dos.
Do you think the pipes burst? Interesting house!
Very cool place. If the owner died in 2007, it most likely went to family. They may have moved in to the home because one bedroom appears to be a child’s room, and then couldn’t pay the mortgage and were evicted and foreclosed upon. I see a lot of houses that are victims of foreclosures that look as if and quite often is the case, the people just up and left. Sometimes, they just don’t have the time or means to take their items. Very sad. Watch “99 Homes” very realistic. Anyway, I think what happened is it has sat empty (the balloons are plastic, not real balloons) and the roof over the back half being a flat roof leaked and ruined the ceilings, etc., on that portion of the house. Flat roofs are notorious for leaks because the water does not always flow off properly. If you look at the photos, part of the house has a metal roof, but many times flat roofs are of other materials. Having owned an old home with two portions of flat roof, it was constant maintenance.
I like what you said Lynn and agree with it. Now the question is, how can a County act to safe guard/prevent places going to ruin further? Could a County hire to do the repairs and then sell the property at auction? This interest me since this could have been a historical structure but money and legal constraints prevent my solution from happening.
Love the old car in the yard!
There are some lovely gems hiding in this place! Some of the light fixtures look pretty old. And that kitchen could be simply wonderful!! I’d really love to look around the place. Imagine what might be hidden in the outbuildings….
As others have stated, its never a good thing to read in the listing “unsafe to enter” but as also noted, someone did enter and took some photos. That brave act might actually save this badly neglected house because otherwise, most folks would assume the house is a straight forward tear-down. I believe it has rehab potential but is not for the faint of heart nor shallow of pocket. But with the price at less than $15,000 perhaps the pockets don’t have to be so deep after all. Generally the approach to rehabbing a house like this is to first make sure the roof is water tight; then conduct a thorough cleanout. There may be some items of value inside-I was watching a new National Geographic channel show today about demolition contractors in Massachusetts who include obtaining salvage rights in their low estimates. In one to-be-demolished house, they found items worth over $25,000 and other doomed houses had items in lower value amounts. I doubt there’s anything of stellar value here but you never know. (rural residents sometimes stashed cash savings in fruit jars they buried in the old days as they distrusted banks) But speculative values aside, the house appears restorable for those willing to make the investment. An acre of land comes with it, another plus. An antique automobile of unknown vintage appears in the background in one photo. All in all, here’s a house waiting to take you on a journey of discovery and through the items you’ll find the house will tell you the story of its past. Just make sure you’re up to the challenge and have the motivation to see the project through. Down the road you may find one final pleasant surprise in recouping your investment when you sell the rehabbed house. If I were younger, a house like this might worth looking into but hopefully someone will see its potential and do something to save it. A prospective rehabber may need an RV or trailer to camp out in while making the house habitable.
I saw so much beauty in this old house. I called the realtor back this afternoon. She is a gem. The couple that went back to see it, walked out. When she was there, another realtor was there, showing it to a contractor. I am sad to say, it is beyond hope. There are no “good bones”. she said that the roof was literally missing in some areas, you could see the sky from the first floor. The damage from water, not only ruined the roof/ceiling, but the water went through the house, and the second floor literally collapsed and fell through to the first floor. Even the walls are destroyed. None of the stuff in the house is worth saving, it is all water damaged and the smell is overwhelming. She said that the land is not worth the price and the cost to remove the house would only add to it. She said it will probably just rot away or someone would come in, vandalize it and make it worse. She feared a fired…perhaps that is the best thing to happen for it, at this point. It is beyond hope, beyond repair and the area would not support a rehab on it, anyways…so sad to say, this chapter is finished.
“It is beyond hope. She said that the roof was literally missing in some areas, you could see the sky from the first floor….the water went through the house, and the second floor literally collapsed and fell through to the first floor. Even the walls are destroyed. None of the stuff in the house is worth saving. She said it will probably just rot away or someone would vandalize it. It is beyond hope, beyond repair and the area would not support a rehab on it, anyways…so sad to say, this chapter is finished.”
A lot of this statement is incorrect. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but don’t lay this one to rest quite yet.
On a side note, this linen print has been in my families living room for forty-five years. I believe this house in Lackawaxen has the same one.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n87/FritzStMire/2016-04-01%2019.17.52_zpsyudkl4xc.jpg
Chestatee, GA
Can you elaborate why her statement is incorrect?
Yes I can. However, since a picture is worth 1000 words, is there a way for me to direct link photos so that they show up in the posts/replies like the way you did with the Vangogh above?
Chestatee, GA
Paste the link as if a normal word, no other codes needed around the link.
Chestatee, GA
Oh wait, you were asking about inserting photos in the comments? No other way other than linking from a photo album (Flikr, Picasa Web.)
Photo test:
http://photos2.zillowstatic.com/p_f/IS1zv66ovub8dh1000000000.jpg
Photo test failed. Need assistance.
Wordpress codex not working here.
How did you do it with the vangogh pic?
Chestatee, GA
You can’t upload photos to comments. If you have a photo hosted elsewhere from a photo album, it’s img coding you’d need to do. http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_img.asp
Ok, I bought this house. The contracts are signed, downpayment paid, and closing is scheduled.
It is quite structurally sound, the kitchen is the worst room due to the flat roof above it leaking,
They took the old car that was out front, and I don’t get to keep the china that is in the kitchen cabinets. Otherwise it’s all mine.
Here’s a link to the photos I took of it.
http://s110.photobucket.com/user/FritzStMire/library/1900%20house
I will do my best to remove it from the endangered list.
Chestatee, GA
Oh, that is completely AWESOME to hear!!!!
Oh please do a blog or Facebook page!!
It sure does look a lot better in your pictures. Lots of work to do, but it’s gonna be beautiful!
On that topic, the closing is the week after next. Immediately after that, the clean out & repairs will begin.
I’m all about photographing the process, but is there a place on this (OHD) forum to share it? If not can anyone recommend an appropriate forum for documenting the process in a detailed thread with photos?
Chestatee, GA
You could open up a blog or the easiest is with a Facebook page since you don’t have to worry with blog maintenance there.
Wow! Thank you Fritz. Hoping you all the best with this restoration. I wonder who has lived in her and if the walls will talk and uncover anything. I hope they do.
Congratulations! You have some very good bones to work with and despite some claims that it is only suitable for a teardown, considerably worse houses have been fully rehabbed. Your plans to first clean out the house and then scope out the needed work are sound. Once you can get the roof repaired and the inside in the dry you can move forward. I’d suggest taking a one room at a time approach as gutting the entire house to the studs leaves you with only the shell of a house. It is at that point that many would-be restorers experience profound discouragement once they realize they have to put the entire house back together. The only time when wholesale gutting makes sense is when you have a large construction crew able to rapidly reconstruct the inside. Tackling one room at a time is far less intimidating especially if this is your first restoration project. Here’s wishing you good luck in the days ahead. It helps to remember it took many years for this house to get in its current condition so expecting to have it all done in a few weeks is not realistic in most cases.
Very good advice John.
houseblogging.com? I’d be very interested to see the rehab process!
Fritz… how’s the progress on the house going? Would love to hear some stories and see pictures of the clean up and reno.
So glad to see this house being saved and not bulldozed.
The only progress so far was to attach a 50′ X 50′ heavy tarp over the entire roof in order to prevent any more water from entering. The closing was postponed until May 27th due to the title deed not being back from the county after the bank forclosure.
PS. What type would this house be classified as? I’ve narrowed down the build date to between 1865 and 1880. I found a photos of the Roebling Aqueduct / D&H Canal dated 1875, and you can see my house in the background.
Chestatee, GA
Thanks for the update. Hope the title comes soon for you.
I assume you mean renderings? I’d love to see it, unless the house is a dot and not that visible.
from this site: http://halfwaybrook.com/?p=5479 you will find a black & white photo of Roebling’s Aqueduct circa 1880 from the minisink historical society.
If you click on the photo, it expands to this:
http://halfwaybrook.com/wp-content/uploads/Slack-Water-Dam-below-Delaware-Lackawaken-confluence-1024×747.jpg
In the background, you will see St.Mary’s church, which is still there today. The church was built in 1863. If you scan directly to the left from the church, my house is the 5th building.
Chestatee, GA
Cool!
I wonder if it was originally built as a Gothic Revival? I can’t really see a good shot of that front gable window. Is there a point (as in shape) to the window or window trim/crown in the gable window? Or is it arched?
I just noticed photo #5 shows the older newel post design which points to the date Fritz is getting at.
Here’s a good shot of the window:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n87/FritzStMire/1900%20house/gable%20window_zps3cytxg3g.jpg
Chestatee, GA
Thanks! Hmmm…anyone want to chime in?
I think that is an Italianate window based on the arch and trim design.
Agreed on the Italianate style window. Italianates typically had two common types of windows: Segmented arch or a partial arch, and full arch so that the sides of the upper glass pane begins to curve towards the top and makes a full arch before it returns to the other side. There were rarer variants like narrow side by side arched panes with a circular pane where the two arched panes converge but generally, if it has an arched shaped its probably Italianate. (similar to the originals found in Tuscany, Italy, that inspired the Italianate Victorian style. The style had its first surge in popularity in Great Britain and then in the early 1840’s crossed the Atlantic and began showing up along the Eastern Seaboard. In looking at the photos in the photobucket collection, I noticed where the exposed upstairs floor joists were the wide (full two inches or more thick) versions which pushes their age at least back to the 1880’s. (or earlier) By the 1890’s dimensional thickness in framing lumber was shrinking; typically an edge and a face of the board were smoother cut. (“s2s” or “smooth two sides”) This shrinking trend continued until today where a nominal 2″ x 4″ measures approx. 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Before the 1880’s, the rougher sawn framing lumber was almost always the full dimensional thickness sometimes even a bit more. Other useful things for dating are original hardware pieces which were often stamped with a patent date. One can generally assume if the piece appears to be original to the house, that the house was built after the patent date. Square cut nails are not very helpful because I have found them used in houses up until around 1900 while wire round nails go back to at least the early 1890’s so there was a decade or more of overlap in their uses. Once in a while you’ll find a board where some old carpenter in a whimsical mood wrote his name and a date-I was lucky enough to find one inscribed on a floor joist dated February XX 1909 in a house I salvaged years ago. The date clues are usually out there, you just have to look for them. More reliable indicators are deed records and Sanborn Fire Maps where available. Few old houses are complete mysteries without any clues to their origins. Worst are houses that were frequently remodeled or altered over a long period of time as often happens in older urban areas. Sometimes a rare early log cabin is discovered behind the walls of much later additions.
Wow, Thanks for sharing Fritz that area sure has a lot of history I wonder how pricey it is to get an abstract of title to see who has lived there = or do you already know?
No, I haven’t researched owners. I met & spoke with the next door neighbor who was born & raised in Lackawaxen. He knew the previous owner who passed away a few years back, and told me that my house is the third oldest in the town. I’m not sure how accurate that is because within a stones throw is the church, post office, hotel, and Zane Grey homestead, all of which were built in the 1800’s.
Wow! I wonder if you will find any newspapers stuffed behind the walls as some people used those for insulation back in the 1800’s supposedly.
Sorry for the complete and total lack of progress reports, but I did photograph everything that was done this summer. Me and my handyman Rob got a fair amount accomplished over the last two months. The closing was in June, and the clean-out took nearly all of July. We filled three 15 yard dumpsters, and found no valuable treasures. I did start a blog on the house this morning as was suggested here. The address is: http://pahouseresto.blogspot.com/
I’ll update it and document what we did so far, and continue as we make progress.
Fritz
Chestatee, GA
Awesome, will enjoy watching you progress! Thanks for the update! 🙂
Hey Fritz – You are doing a ‘Great’ job of reporting and blogging. I wondered how things were going in saving this beauty. Thanks for the update. How difficult was the roof and did you change the slope?
Robert, I haven’t even touched the roof yet. It is triple tarped now and the house has stayed dry inside all summer. I didn’t want to put a new roof on it until all the internal structural issues were resolved. Rest assured early next spring around March or April, I will be on it.
Oh okay, I just thought since that was an area that caused a lot of the problem that you would have. But doing an overview of the entire structure is necessary, especially since you found the sagging floors and misplaced support walls. It’s interesting to watch it happen. Best of luck to you. One step at a time.
Roof going on this week. Hoping to get siding, paint, and windows done this summer. If time permits, we will be re-doing the floors and replacing damaged plaster with sheetrock. Follow along at: http://pahouseresto.blogspot.com/
Fritz
Chestatee, GA
Awesome!!! The original door is beautiful! Hope it can be repaired (if needed) and put back in, much prettier than the new one. 🙂
The house is now completely watertight and happy. My handyman Rob and I tore off the 2nd floor addition and put a new roof on it this season. We also completely re-built the back wall of the house. We installed new siding(no vinyl) and installed new wood windows that matched the size of the originals. The before & after photos of the back view are on the blog.
Kelly, It would be great if you could post those two photos(before & after) form my blog onto this thread.
Next big project will be re-doing the hardwood floors and new drywall inside.
Fritz
Chestatee, GA
Thanks Fritz for the update! I’ll post the photos first thing Monday, thanks! 🙂
Chestatee, GA
Sorry for the delay. Here’s the before/after. Looking good!
Wow! That’s some major elbow grease. Good job looking good.
New joists, subfloors, and walls are in on the first floor. Sheetrock & wiring begins in the next couple weeks, Then new hardwood floors.
She’s getting there! Follow along at: https://pahouseresto.blogspot.com/
Fritz
Chestatee, GA
Cool, thanks for the update!!!
Thanks for saving her and documenting it Fritz. The end will justify all your hard work and future generations will benefit too. Keep on keeping on.
We’re fixing the kitchen this spring. New floor, walls, and ceiling will no doubt make the glass front cabinets and farmhouse sink look proud once again!
Keep up with the progress at: https://pahouseresto.blogspot.com/
Fritz
Chestatee, GA
Thanks for the update!