Treasures Found in Historic House
CHESTER – Imagine buying a home and finding a crawlspace filled with household items discarded by past occupants over the course of a century and a half telling a chronological story layer by layer.
Issac Ruiz and Virginia Carmany, owners of the Turner House, built in 1825, located at 51 Middlesex Avenue, said they uncovered interesting surprises as they restored and remodeled the house they bought in 1999.
Ruiz was inspired to inspect the crawlspace when he thought his cat got lost.
“It was unbelievable how much trash was in that crawlspace,” Ruiz said, adding that he suited up in gear similar to a biohazard suit and used a flashlight to look through the crawlspace with trash sitting underneath the heating pipes.
“The crawlspace was sealed off with rocks,” Ruiz said, adding he believes the apartment-looking room above formerly had trap doors where occupants would dispose of things they no longer wanted.
Ruiz said he took out fifteen large trash bags of various items with 10 percent of it being salvageable while the other 90 percent was in disrepair, rusting, or was broken.
Salvageable items dated back to 1890 with the newest piece from 1905.
Carmany said some of the artifacts found included an “Old English Curve Cut Pipe Tobacco” can, an 1885 glass bottle, horseshoes, canned meats, canned spices, powders, and sassafras.
As the couple sorted out the treasures, they learned that prescriptions in the 19th century used to be dispensed in clear glass bottles with the pharmacists name and town engraved on the bottle’s side.
“We found a bottle marked ‘Williams and Carlton, Hartford, Conn.’,” Carmany said.
Additionally, Carmany created a glass case that hangs on the wall with small items recovered from the crawlspace including nails of various sizes from very small to four inches, a paint container top, a pen knife, a door jam for 19th century doorknobs, and broken China, which signified the Asian influence in the Connecticut River Valley in the 1800’s.
The house has been in the Turner Family for most of its existence.
Dr. Slyvester W. Turner and his wife, Gertude Selden Turner, bought it in 1850 and it has been in the family until the 1950’s.
Thanks to Ruiz and Carmany, people nationwide will see and hear about the Turner House’s interesting history, a house which served as the Congregational Church parsonage.
Home and Garden Television, HGTV, contacted Donna Carlson, President of the Chester Historical Society, asking her if she knew of any historical houses in town that could be featured on the hit-show “If Walls Could Talk”.
The society then issued a press release printed in several local newspapers including the Pictorial Gazette.
Ruiz and Carmany contacted HGTV and after exchanging e-mails with them, found out their house was selected to air.
The couple invited Curator of the Chester Historical Society Feldmann Bush, Chester Town Historian Rob Miceli, Chester First Selectman Tom Marsh, and Carlson to witness the HGTV filming crew tape a segment of their house on January 11.
Peg Reyer, a spokesperson for the Chester Historical Society, said the approximate seven to fifteen minute HGTV segment focused on the home’s treasures and artifacts while the Chester Historical Society made a half-hour video tour explaining how the couple came to Chester, the house’s unique history, previous renovations done to the house, renovations performed by Ruiz and Carmany, and, of course, the home’s treasures.
Carmany said many aspects of the early federal style house has changed with the times and has contemporary features not part of the original house including electricity, plumbing, and oil heating.
Ruiz said previous owners renovated the house’s bathrooms, converted a downstairs bedroom into a kitchen, and used designs in specific rooms with a 1950’s/1960’s style.
“There was a balance of renovation and restoration,” Ruiz said, regarding the couple’s decision to restore some parts of the house and renovate others.
The house’s fascinating history has prompted Ruiz to start the process of getting the house designated as a National Historic Landmark.
The one-year process, Ruiz said, involves the submission and review of paperwork and a review by local, state, and national historians who will conduct comprehensive research.
According to the National Park Service, the federal government agency overseeing the National Historic Landmarks Program, landmarks are selected based on their significance in history and culture.
Twice a year, the National Park Service and National Park System Advisory Board looks at the historical importance of potential landmarks and makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior.
The Secretary of the Interior makes designations about six to eight weeks after the advisory board makes its recommendation.
Out of the fifty-nine National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut, only two are located in Middlesex County, the Portland Brownstone Quarries in Portland and the Samuel Wadsworth Russell House in Middletown.
Scott Paddor, “If These Walls Could Talk” show runner, advises interested readers to visit www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_wct which lists episode dates of the show three weeks in advance
Paddor predicts the Chester segment will air in the next few months.
Issac Ruiz and Virginia Carmany, owners of the Turner House, built in 1825, located at 51 Middlesex Avenue, said they uncovered interesting surprises as they restored and remodeled the house they bought in 1999.
Ruiz was inspired to inspect the crawlspace when he thought his cat got lost.
“It was unbelievable how much trash was in that crawlspace,” Ruiz said, adding that he suited up in gear similar to a biohazard suit and used a flashlight to look through the crawlspace with trash sitting underneath the heating pipes.
“The crawlspace was sealed off with rocks,” Ruiz said, adding he believes the apartment-looking room above formerly had trap doors where occupants would dispose of things they no longer wanted.
Ruiz said he took out fifteen large trash bags of various items with 10 percent of it being salvageable while the other 90 percent was in disrepair, rusting, or was broken.
Salvageable items dated back to 1890 with the newest piece from 1905.
Carmany said some of the artifacts found included an “Old English Curve Cut Pipe Tobacco” can, an 1885 glass bottle, horseshoes, canned meats, canned spices, powders, and sassafras.
As the couple sorted out the treasures, they learned that prescriptions in the 19th century used to be dispensed in clear glass bottles with the pharmacists name and town engraved on the bottle’s side.
“We found a bottle marked ‘Williams and Carlton, Hartford, Conn.’,” Carmany said.
Additionally, Carmany created a glass case that hangs on the wall with small items recovered from the crawlspace including nails of various sizes from very small to four inches, a paint container top, a pen knife, a door jam for 19th century doorknobs, and broken China, which signified the Asian influence in the Connecticut River Valley in the 1800’s.
The house has been in the Turner Family for most of its existence.
Dr. Slyvester W. Turner and his wife, Gertude Selden Turner, bought it in 1850 and it has been in the family until the 1950’s.
Thanks to Ruiz and Carmany, people nationwide will see and hear about the Turner House’s interesting history, a house which served as the Congregational Church parsonage.
Home and Garden Television, HGTV, contacted Donna Carlson, President of the Chester Historical Society, asking her if she knew of any historical houses in town that could be featured on the hit-show “If Walls Could Talk”.
The society then issued a press release printed in several local newspapers including the Pictorial Gazette.
Ruiz and Carmany contacted HGTV and after exchanging e-mails with them, found out their house was selected to air.
The couple invited Curator of the Chester Historical Society Feldmann Bush, Chester Town Historian Rob Miceli, Chester First Selectman Tom Marsh, and Carlson to witness the HGTV filming crew tape a segment of their house on January 11.
Peg Reyer, a spokesperson for the Chester Historical Society, said the approximate seven to fifteen minute HGTV segment focused on the home’s treasures and artifacts while the Chester Historical Society made a half-hour video tour explaining how the couple came to Chester, the house’s unique history, previous renovations done to the house, renovations performed by Ruiz and Carmany, and, of course, the home’s treasures.
Carmany said many aspects of the early federal style house has changed with the times and has contemporary features not part of the original house including electricity, plumbing, and oil heating.
Ruiz said previous owners renovated the house’s bathrooms, converted a downstairs bedroom into a kitchen, and used designs in specific rooms with a 1950’s/1960’s style.
“There was a balance of renovation and restoration,” Ruiz said, regarding the couple’s decision to restore some parts of the house and renovate others.
The house’s fascinating history has prompted Ruiz to start the process of getting the house designated as a National Historic Landmark.
The one-year process, Ruiz said, involves the submission and review of paperwork and a review by local, state, and national historians who will conduct comprehensive research.
According to the National Park Service, the federal government agency overseeing the National Historic Landmarks Program, landmarks are selected based on their significance in history and culture.
Twice a year, the National Park Service and National Park System Advisory Board looks at the historical importance of potential landmarks and makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior.
The Secretary of the Interior makes designations about six to eight weeks after the advisory board makes its recommendation.
Out of the fifty-nine National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut, only two are located in Middlesex County, the Portland Brownstone Quarries in Portland and the Samuel Wadsworth Russell House in Middletown.
Scott Paddor, “If These Walls Could Talk” show runner, advises interested readers to visit www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_wct which lists episode dates of the show three weeks in advance
Paddor predicts the Chester segment will air in the next few months.
