c. 1787 in West Greenwich, RI

~~$339,900~~

Sold / Archive From 2022

Added to OHD on 8/5/22 - Last OHD Update: 10/24/22

319 Sharpe St, West Greenwich, RI 02817

3 Bed
1.5 Bath
2059 Sq Ft
2 Ac.

Welcome to the Stephen Allen House built in 1787, a property with significant history and fortunate to be included on the most sacred of lists for purists, the Historic Registry. This home is located in sought after West Greenwich, nearby highway access for commuters, good local restaurants and the EWG High School. The property offers so much character, original floors, beautiful exposed beams, archways, doors and the classic center chimney fireplaces, all the requisites for you to create a truly accurate period appropriate home. Priced over 100,000 beneath comparable sized homes, this property is a fixer upper, but structurally sound, with a new roof, a lot of electrical upgrades so the home is approachable for the buyer or investor who wants to secure a solid home, original historic stairs with solid bones, red cedar shingles, and renovate while gaining equity. Gently rolling property includes plenty of green space, parking and two outbuildings; even the original outhouse for that classic integrity, everything you need to make your transition to country living in one of RI's most peaceful rural outposts. Located nearby Arcadia Management area and several swimming, hiking and hunting spots. Plant your roots in West Greenwich and don't settle for a cookie cutter new house when you can have the history and charm that you've been dreaming of in a convenient, country location, the best of both worlds here at home! Take a trip back in time and you'll never regret it!

Listed With

Matt Patty Team, Century 21 Shoreline :: (401) 269-6169

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TheDogsCar | 28 comments

1 year ago

Are the fires Photoshopped in? I seem to see pink Fiberglass insulation blocking one flu (pic 7). There is no smoke and no embers below either. Is this some kind of Witchery?

Den | 207 comments

Reply to TheDogsCar | 28 comments

I was wondering the same thing!

Sally G | 360 comments

Supporter

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
My cat wrote the above in appreciation of your Witchery comment.

dhh177 | 131 comments

Maybe they do that to indicate a working fireplace.

Kat | 355 comments

They are, you can tell because the flames are in the same position in both photos.

Mimi | 222 comments

The fires must be photoshopped in those photos. Charming home!

KEYLIME | 1943 comments

The answers that contingency inspections were made for. On a related note, the pic 26 bathroom has something boxed in from floor to ceiling, in the corner. I’d also be interested in the inspector’s comments about the visible electrical in the basement.
Otherwise, it’s a very beautiful and inviting house.

Carebear | 1831 comments

BAsed on what I can see, the basement wiring, the exposed piping in the piano room, The bathroom corner with that boxed in something (a drain?), the fiberglass insulation hanging out of the fireplace (why?), I’d be sure to get a very thorough home inspection done on this house, by someone who knows what they are doing. I think I’d also pay a good contractor to also go through it with me. Just in case there’s something that is not only going to be expensive to fix, but dangerous. I think I’d want two opinions here.
the kitchen, I’d figure some other place to put the stove and fridge. The stove is blocking part of the window-that just looks messy and odd. And, you need a counter space on both sides of the stove when you have more than one pot on the burners, and a pan in the oven. A fridge needs countertop on at least one side. But that’s all I’d do, there.
The sunroom-get that carpet out of there! It looks very out of place. I think either a canvas floorcloth, or a floor painted to look as if it has an area rug on it, would look charming.
The basement looks dry. Maybe a room down here?
With work, I think this house would be great!

Reply to Carebear | 1831 comments

The bathroom corner with that boxed in something

That room seems to be on the second floor. At first I thought it might be hiding a vent pipe but no such pipe can be seen protruding above the roof. Then I wondered if it might be hiding some electric wires to an overhead light. Can’t see the ceiling in that room.
Your advice to walk through the place with a good contractor is solid.
To some degree, that visible piping looks like the sort of thing people build an in-room raised platform to hide, usually under a newly added bathtub. But this piping runs across the ceiling of the room below it?

JDmiddleson | 5202 comments

Reply to KEYLIME | 1943 comments

And herein lies the dilemma! How does one add a bathroom into a house that never had one in the first place? Keep in mind the ceiling we see between the beams is also the floor above! The house didn’t even have electrical to start with. How does one hide plumbing and electrical in a house that has few places to hide them? I think a good home inspector is always advisable, but it may well be that while what we see isn’t visually appealing, it’s done correctly!

Joseph | 444 comments

They may have simply boxed in a corner post – that had been done in a couple of my houses.

socalnanynan | 456 comments

One of my gripes is stoves without counter space, ditto refrigerator. You hit the nail on the head. No one seems to comment on the painted woodwork! Total descration!

Kelly, OHD | 15308 comments

Admin

Reply to socalnanynan | 456 comments

Are you talking about the painted woodwork in the posted home? If so, it’s period correct to have painted woodwork. Most of the colors are even appropriate as well.

https://www.oldhouseonline.com/interiors-and-decor/authentic-colonial-colors/

Reply to Kelly, OHD | 15308 comments

The colors in 10 – 16 shocked me against the beautiful wood floors. But appreciate your reply and information. West Greenwich is a lovely area. As a born and raised Rhode Islander, seeing a lovely home such as this can make this old lady somewhat homesick.

| 508 comments

It’s definitely period-correct to have painted woodwork. But this particular shade of something between pink and purple, which bears a remarkable semblance to Kelly’s banner above, not so much. 😀

I was waiting for some astute observer to comment on the woodwork itself, especially in that pink-purple room. It is beyond strange and I have never seen anything like it. Paneling on outside walls going halfway up between windows and capped by strange crowns? Vertical raised panels under some windows, horizontal under others? No rhyme or rhythm to any of it?

Nah. Perhaps someone scavenged a pile of paneling from a condemned library and cut and pasted in a not very aesthetic way in the 19th or 20th C.

JimH | 8411 comments

Moderator

Reply to | 508 comments

The 1978 NRHP report mentioned that the parlor paneling was from another building, so it’s almost historic at this point.

https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/78000060

Folks were into the Early American thing back then:

Reply to JimH | 8411 comments

We make a good team, Jim. I do the lazy idle speculation and you do the genuine academic investigation 😀

Don’t know about “genuine academic.” I’m good at finding info, and sometimes I read it.

tyreval | 268 comments

Was thinking that it would help to move out the counter and install a long work table instead. Meanwhile, as you say: a dry basement is a wonderful thing, especially in a house of such an age.

Dream On | 262 comments

Perfection. Simple, pure, colonial perfection. PVC pipes, exposed wires and all! 😍

Reply to Dream On | 262 comments

It is very nice. I like they used an old cabinet for the Island in the Kitchen

That caught my eye, too. There was a house on here once that used two second hand store dressers flanking a sink to create kitchen cabinets and I thought that was a wonderful idea. It didn’t occur to me to use an old cabinet as an island. But it makes perfect sense.
Waste not, want not.

roxxx | 978 comments

I would love to have this home and property.

Yeah, that’s so unfortunate to see. Surely there’s a way to hide those somehow.

Remi | 515 comments

In older houses in the UK, it’s not unusual to see sewer lines on the outside of the house, painted to match the structure. Here they could (*gasp*) cover ye rustick beams with sheetrock and encase the PVC over the windows as an option.

Reply to Remi | 515 comments

My 1890’s California Queen Anne has that, in a very not obvious location and painted to match the house. I’ve never been bothered by it, hardly ever think about it.

I also thought that copper pipes would be an improvement. Perhaps it could be turned into folk art by soldering various artsey creations to it. I don’t have anything in particular in mind but that long horizontal length could have multi colored Buddhist prayer flags, made of tiny stained glass pieces. The trap could become a perch for some tiny figure. I’ve long thought it would be fun to have a genuine firehouse pole. Maybe that straight vertical section could be turned into a depiction of same.With minature me sliding down it.
In any case, I’d get rid of the plastic in favor of copper.

Hester | 200 comments

Are waste pipes made in copper? I don’t recall ever seeing any. Usually, PVC or cast iron are the choices but I haven’t dealt with this type problem in awhile.

Reply to Hester | 200 comments

They can be. Here’s some info.
–Copper Pipes
If your piping is the same color as a penny, you’ve got copper pipes. Copper piping made its first appearances in 1930-era homes and buildings, but the metal really gained traction during the 1960s, when homebuilders came to favor its properties over galvanized steel. The thinness of copper piping makes it smaller, lighter and easier than steel when it comes to maintenance work. Thanks to its strength, durability and heat resistance, copper piping seldom causes problems in homes built within the last 30 years.
Nonetheless, copper does have its share of drawbacks. In some of the earlier-built homes with this type of piping, the presence of lead solder around the fittings can be an issue. [Pipes which supply drinking water are now required to use lead-free solder.] Recent price hikes on copper have rendered maintenance on the piping more expensive than other plumbing work. As time wears on, the orangey brown hue of copper gives way to the effects of oxidation, which renders the surface darker and sometimes greenish in appearance. [Or what we would call the attractive natural patina of verdigris.]
https://www.mrrooter.com/greater-syracuse/about-us/blog/2016/july/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-home-dr/
If the rest of the line, the non visible part, is PVC, copper piping can be connected to it with an adapter.

The extreme number of wooden panels in 14-16; wow, some carpenter really went to town! You don’t need any artwork in this room, it’s already been taken care of!

J.Scott | 1261 comments

Well I love this home! All things are fixable… right! It has so much history. I like the way they did the kitchen, the cupboards are not bad. It’s on a lovely quiet road. The piano is a keeper! The price is great! What’s not to love!!

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