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1892 in Havre De Grace, MD

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Added to OHD on 3/23/22   -   Last OHD Update: 7/25/22

1350 Blenhiem Farm Ln, Havre De Grace, MD 21078

  • 6 Bed
  • 1.5 Bath
  • 4414 Sq Ft
  • 1.51 Ac.
Blenheim mansion has been noted to be one of the finest surviving villas that were built by Harford County's industrialist at the turn of the 19th century. It retains almost all original features including 8 finely detailed fireplace mantles, original heart pine flooring, elaborate interior and exterior woodwork, and sits on top two man made terraces. The house was built by local master builder Jacob E. Bull for Henry A. Osborn and all his original designs and features remain. The home has over 76 original windows most are 2 over 2 double hung sash, but the main front parlor has floor to ceiling 2 over 4 double hung sashes that open into the wall to allow passage onto the porches. Oak and Chestnut mouldings can be found throughout the main floor originally crafted and installed on site with extreme accuracy. Large 8-1/2 foot tall double pocket doors are in the main entry foyer, front parlor, middle parlor and dining room with original keys. Modern upgrades include a large 18 X 22 country kitchen with custom made wood counter tops, a 52” x 108” center island with built in appliances, 4 zones of heating and air conditioning, full basement workshop with new concrete floors and new 400amp electrical service with commercial grade wiring. Bathrooms fixtures are restored and contain the original oak detailed sink frames, bowls and marble tops that were installed in the early part of the 20th century. The home has many other original features like the 130 year old hand made stained glass windows, the stain glass transom above the front door includes Henry A. Osborn’s monogram, the original 44” oak front door has been restored and all hardware remains in good working order, unique Victorian era lighting, original round wooden door knobs, functioning transom windows over every 2nd floor interior door way, and many other irreplaceable items. The home was even the setting place for Disney's Tuck Everlasting in 2002. The house was owned by the original family for almost 120 years and is now home to a new family that cares about all the hard work and effort that was put into constructing such a building so long ago. See documents for extensive list of upgrades completed by current owner during their stewardship. The Victorian house, purist will not be disappointed.
Listed With

Edward Garono, Cummings & Co. Realtors :: 410-823-0033

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Kelly, OHD
Admin
1 year ago

2011 post:
https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2011/01/04/1892-havre-de-grace-md-tuck-everlasting/

I’ve been worried about this home since the original posting due to the development around it. Owners, great job!

MJG
Supporter
1 year ago

First things first! This house has stunning woodwork, nice paint scheme outside, and beautiful stained glass windows! Yes please! Nice job folks.

Only major and instant thing for me would be, I would remove the modern kitchen from what was originally the room it was and move it back to where it was originally in the kitchen wing. Then undo any damage done to the walls and floors. Pic 39 is the original kitchen and butlery.

St. Charles Ave.
Reply to  MJG | 6692 comments
1 year ago

I was really impressed by the kitchen, it strikes me as a very sensitive way to create a convenient, contemporary kitchen with the style and flair of yesteryear. The cabinetry and island in particular look attractive and not at all out of place in the home.

But, I haven’t seen the original.

MJG
Reply to  St. Charles Ave. | 71 comments
1 year ago

That’s a fair argument. There is a truth to that if you’re looking for a contemporary implementation. And they at least didn’t gut the room. But for me personally it doesn’t work. 🙂

St. Charles Ave.
Reply to  MJG | 6692 comments
1 year ago

Could you point to some examples of homes restored to a correct kitchen? I would love to learn more.

MJG
Reply to  St. Charles Ave. | 71 comments
1 year ago

Hello my friend. Yes. Look up mark Twain house in hartford. Look up historic New England and tour some of those homes. The Eustice estate has a kitchen. It’s odd because the owner says the room above was never a kitchen but it does house many features consistent with 99 percent of all homes of this era to be a kitchen. Now I m or homes if the time also have had laundries built in and disconnected kitchens so it could be possible but I’ll stick with my original plan to convert that room back to a kitchen.
https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/eustis-estate-museum-study-center/

Rod
Reply to  MJG | 6692 comments
1 year ago

Hello all, my wife and I are the current owners of Blenheim, we have been restoring and preserving the home and remaining property for almost 5 years now. Thanks to everyone for their very generous comments it makes me feel good about the hard work exhausted here. Unfortunately we have to leave the area to help support family in a tough time. Our children are very young so we are able to make a move but it’s very hard to let all of the work go that we have completed. Blenheim is a very special building in our area, a lot went into creating it over 130 years ago in a very rural place at that time. To put it in perspective the old Blenheim lane was a dirt road until after the late 1990’s. Hard to imagine that now. Anyway I wanted to touch base on a few comments most all I agree with as an old house lover. I would like to clarify the decision for the kitchen and the arrangement. Blenheim originally had no indoor kitchen as we would think of one, the original kitchen was outside the main building behind the Butlers quarters. There was a hand dug well right off the East corner of the house that would service the kitchen. That structure burned to the ground decades ago I have not found any documents as to determine the date but I would guess before the 1920’s. The cooking would have also taken place at the small hearth in the Butlers quarters where the laundry area is now. That would not have been the main kitchen for large gatherings though. Henry Osborn was the original owner responsible for hiring Jacob E Bull to build the home. Henry Osborn passed away in the late 1920’s and his wife Francis in the 1930’s. Their two daughters were the only surviving family members left as their brother Henry jr passed away from the influenza just after the great war. Because of this shock to their family I would guess that if the original outdoor kitchen was lost it would have been around this time where the need for a large cooking area was not needed. I do know it caught fire and burned and was never rebuilt most likely because it was not needed. So the area in the butlers quarters was basically a open fire hearth a cupboard and washboard. There never was a kitchen there with any antique stove or anything else to help prepare food. The kitchen everyone may have seen in a past real estate listing was added by Farm hands who were renting the building in the 1980’s. That area is relatively small and it did not lend enough room for what we now consider a basic kitchen. I then decided I had to use half the dining area as there were no other areas in the house that would be appropriate. It made me sick to alter the home but I did it with out disrupting and original fabric of the home, no walls changed, no flooring lost, every original window was still in play just like the room was designed. That required custom depth wall cabinets, hand made unique pantry countertops and many other items to blend the accessories around the original space. If I was a millionaire and did not have a full time job I would have made all the cabinetry like the built in cupboard I added in the laundry area. Unfortunately I play the same poor man’s game every Monday through Friday. The kitchen we added looks modern I agree with the stainless front appliances, but I had to be realistic with what we could afford since the rest of the home required so much to make it livable again. I reused the original baseboard and base cap molding to blend around the cabinets at the floor, areas where I needed longer runs I produced in my carpentry shop downstairs. Overall everything I did could be undone but raising a family with 3 kids, commuting to work my wife also commuting to work, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to light a wood burning stove and run to the cellar to get the kids breakfast ready to make it to school on time. I hate to say it but our fast paced lifestyles today make it impossible to live like people were able to back then.

Oh real quick the widows peak on the roof was mentioned, that would have just been a lookout on the roof, it was called a widows peak from an old term during colonial days I believe when wives or mothers would have been looking out for their husband or sons returning from war. It still has the original wood ladder in the attic to access the platform on the roof. I had to completely rebuild the 6 columns that hold the structure. They were heavily damaged from poor repairs and basically doctoring them up for the Disney movie that was filmed there in early 2000’s. I made 6 new columns that tied into the original roof structure just like they originally were, adapted them just below the tapered section of the column with a 6” long mortise and tenon joint and pegged them with a 1-1/4” oak pin. I have most of the railings fabricated in the wood shop but I have not had the time to finish them and complete the install. So there would never have been a bell there it was a decorative cupola and a great place to view the Chesapeake Bay from. Always a nice breeze up there too being 40 feet off the ground. I have tons of photos documenting the work over the past 5 years and a lot of memories. I have worked on dozens of old buildings and never had the privilege to work on and preserve as nice a structure as Blenheim, we will miss it dearly, I can’t imagine not taking our family Christmas picture on the main front staircase this year. I’m hoping to one day be able to find another place similar where we will stay put to have time to develop those memories. Take care everyone and thanks again for the nice comments.

MJG
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

You’ve done a beautiful job on the colors, woodwork and everything. The room you are saying isn’t ever a kitchen is a room consistently with 90 percent of historic floor plan drawings for a kitchen so that’s why I surmised it was one. In restoring historic kitchens and laundry’s I’ve seen many of the elements still in situ in your house. The stove would have been portable I’m assuming if it was one since the current opening is small. I have seen in my studies outside kitchens as well so I don’t dispute that at all and it’s sad it’s lost. Sometimes called A summer kitchen I’ve seen in period drawings and plans. The room with the toilet now with the pass through probably the original butlers pantry. There is a slide to pass the food through for preparation in the dishes. So if that other room wasn’t the kitchen they would clearly bring it from the outside in through this building. That’s consistent with most building plans of this decade. Again it’s totally possible what you’re saying was true. I’d just love to see an original floor plan or investigate it more. Either way it’s just a matter of taste and preference and I don’t like entertaining in my kitchen so if this home was near me to purchase I’d move your current kitchen into that room. And I’m sad you have to sell your stunning masterpiece.

J.Scott
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

Dear Rod,
Thank You for sharing your story here. I have to say that I loved seeing what you did to make a working kitchen, it blends beautifully with the home but is also (like you said) necessary and practical for living in today’s world.

All of your home is breathtaking and is truly one of my favorites from Old House Dreams thus far. You have put such thought and care into everything! I’m sure it is hard for you to leave.

Best of luck to you and your family!

David
Supporter
1 year ago

I am not a fan of having the kitchen being so visible to the formal dining room. HOWEVER, I love the new kitchen and the way people entertain these days it creates a great space to entertain informally, Just close the pocket doors for more formal dining in the dining room. I love EVERY THING about this lovely home! The only changes would be to create a cute vintage kitchen with vintage appliances in the original kitchen oh… a bell in the tower!

Mandy
Reply to  David | 675 comments
1 year ago

My grandparent’s 1923 home had a swinging wood door that could stay open or closed that hid both the butler’s pantry and kitchen.

tyreval
1 year ago

I have been past this house many times. At one point it was standing empty, so it’s very nice to see that the current owners have done a commendable job in updating the place. Note that this house is squarely in the middle of a gated housing development on the edge of a small rural town on the Chesapeake Bay.

Rosewater
Supporter
1 year ago

Wow, wow, wow! An absolute triumph! Just gorgeous. THOSE WINDOWS! What a treat to finally REALLY get to see them after all these years. Still no attic shots though.

I don’t remember that 2011 post. It sat on the market for a good long time because there was another OHD post of it probably 2014 or so. Lots of great bants in that thread. I remember finding and posting the link to the below linked (pretty darn good considering) video there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhejminCWEI
I VERY clearly remember literally yelling NOOOOOOO at the screen as he passes over the attic stair completely nonchalantly at the end. Heheheh.

Pity about the farm becoming tacky suburbia; but in this case well worth dealing with to live in this FABULOUSLY renewed house. These super successful re-dos are so very rare. Warms the heart.

JDmiddleson
1 year ago

Quite a stunning home! The virtual tour is well worth the effort and for all those who are into shop and woodworking, make sure you go downstairs into the basement! I agree with M.G. about the location of the kitchen. That said, kitchen remodels are brain-damage expensive, not for the weak of pocketbook. Of course, I was thrilled the virtual tour let you go to the basement but wouldn’t let you access the attic. Drat! The owners have done a stunning job on this home!

DianeEG
Supporter
1 year ago

I don’t think I ever (or seldom) look at a new kitchen in an old home and think “I’d tear that out” because as JDmiddleson remarked, “remodels are brain-damage expensive” plus this one is respectful to the home. In this case, I like the newly created one and like that the old one is being used and the old fixtures left in place. Is that really a bell tower and why would it be? Seems rather an over the top addition just to call the farm workers in to dinner or is it just another beautiful part of the design? Nice barn and I expect when the trees/bushes leaf out, the housing edition would become less of a visual issue.

Barbara V
Supporter
1 year ago

Very nice job! Other than the kitchen – which is far from the worst we’ve seen – I’d need to do something about the McMansion-style landscape, which serves to blend the property in with the development but does not honor the integrity of the house – imo, anyway.

And, btw, a functional, period-appropriate kitchen can be created in most cases for far less than the typical “brain-damage expensive remodel” to which too many people these days succumb.

J.Scott
Supporter
1 year ago

So much to love about this lovely home! The tile around all the fireplaces is really exquisite! Love the old kitchen sink and all the neat bathroom sinks too.

St. Charles Ave.
1 year ago

Yeah, the virtual tour is a masterpiece. Incredibly well done.

I missed the porte cochere on the first viewing.

Rod
1 year ago

Hello all, my wife and I are the current owners of Blenheim, we have been restoring and preserving the home and remaining property for almost 5 years now. Thanks to everyone for their very generous comments it makes me feel good about the hard work exhausted here. Unfortunately we have to leave the area to help support family in a tough time. Our children are very young so we are able to make a move but it’s very hard to let all of the work go that we have completed. Blenheim is a very special building in our area, a lot went into creating it over 130 years ago in a very rural place at that time. To put it in perspective the old Blenheim lane was a dirt road until after the late 1990’s. Hard to imagine that now. Anyway I wanted to touch base on a few comments most all I agree with as an old house lover. I would like to clarify the decision for the kitchen and the arrangement. Blenheim originally had no indoor kitchen as we would think of one, the original kitchen was outside the main building behind the Butlers quarters. There was a hand dug well right off the East corner of the house that would service the kitchen. That structure burned to the ground decades ago I have not found any documents as to determine the date but I would guess before the 1920’s. The cooking would have also taken place at the small hearth in the Butlers quarters where the laundry area is now. That would not have been the main kitchen for large gatherings though. Henry Osborn was the original owner responsible for hiring Jacob E Bull to build the home. Henry Osborn passed away in the late 1920’s and his wife Francis in the 1930’s. Their two daughters were the only surviving family members left as their brother Henry jr passed away from the influenza just after the great war. Because of this shock to their family I would guess that if the original outdoor kitchen was lost it would have been around this time where the need for a large cooking area was not needed. I do know it caught fire and burned and was never rebuilt most likely because it was not needed. So the area in the butlers quarters was basically a open fire hearth a cupboard and washboard. There never was a kitchen there with any antique stove or anything else to help prepare food. The kitchen everyone may have seen in a past real estate listing was added by Farm hands who were renting the building in the 1980’s. That area is relatively small and it did not lend enough room for what we now consider a basic kitchen. I then decided I had to use half the dining area as there were no other areas in the house that would be appropriate. It made me sick to alter the home but I did it with out disrupting and original fabric of the home, no walls changed, no flooring lost, every original window was still in play just like the room was designed. That required custom depth wall cabinets, hand made unique pantry countertops and many other items to blend the accessories around the original space. If I was a millionaire and did not have a full time job I would have made all the cabinetry like the built in cupboard I added in the laundry area. Unfortunately I play the same poor man’s game every Monday through Friday. The kitchen we added looks modern I agree with the stainless front appliances, but I had to be realistic with what we could afford since the rest of the home required so much to make it livable again. I reused the original baseboard and base cap molding to blend around the cabinets at the floor, areas where I needed longer runs I produced in my carpentry shop downstairs. Overall everything I did could be undone but raising a family with 3 kids, commuting to work my wife also commuting to work, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to light a wood burning stove and run to the cellar to get the kids breakfast ready to make it to school on time. I hate to say it but our fast paced lifestyles today make it impossible to live like people were able to back then.

Oh real quick the widows peak on the roof was mentioned, that would have just been a lookout on the roof, it was called a widows peak from an old term during colonial days I believe when wives or mothers would have been looking out for their husband or sons returning from war. It still has the original wood ladder in the attic to access the platform on the roof. I had to completely rebuild the 6 columns that hold the structure. They were heavily damaged from poor repairs and basically doctoring them up for the Disney movie that was filmed there in early 2000’s. I made 6 new columns that tied into the original roof structure just like they originally were, adapted them just below the tapered section of the column with a 6” long mortise and tenon joint and pegged them with a 1-1/4” oak pin. I have most of the railings fabricated in the wood shop but I have not had the time to finish them and complete the install. So there would never have been a bell there it was a decorative cupola and a great place to view the Chesapeake Bay from. Always a nice breeze up there too being 40 feet off the ground. I have tons of photos documenting the work over the past 5 years and a lot of memories. I have worked on dozens of old buildings and never had the privilege to work on and preserve as nice a structure as Blenheim, we will miss it dearly, I can’t imagine not taking our family Christmas picture on the main front staircase this year. I’m hoping to one day be able to find another place similar where we will stay put to have time to develop those memories. Take care everyone and thanks again for the nice comments.

JDmiddleson
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your story, as well as this beautiful house, with us. It is an amazing home and your respect for the home shows in every part of the home. Well done! I’m sure there is a home out there waiting for you to give it the same love you have to this one. Best wishes! (I’m envious of your shop, by the way.)

MJG
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

Here is a more in-depth explanation of the roof deck. Though no written evidence exists I believe still from the past that these were actually used as “widows walks” or called that during these eras but many scholars believe this is a 20th century myth. Though I’ve not researched in depth to colonial times. There are lot of unsubstantiated myths that surround the 19th century and this could be one of them. Victorian folks loved towers and cupolas etc. Mostly described in period journals, architectural catalogs, records as well as subscriptions like Architectural record and building news, and even periodicals like Good Housekeeping of this era as a “roof deck” or an “observatory” for example.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow's_walk

St. Charles Ave.
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

You did some great work! I hope you find another place to call home that inspires you in the same way. (I’m the guy who loved your kitchen)

Ezina
Reply to  Rod | 2 comments
1 year ago

why would they have the kitchen outside on this house in Maryland? I always thought that was more for houses in the deeper south and hotter places.

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