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Altrusa hears update on repairs to historic Parkersburg mansion

Photo by Brett Dunlap Senta Goudy, executive director of the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Foundation, gives an update to the local Altrusa chapter Thursday on work being done at the historic Stephenson Home, also known as Oakland, on Seventh Street. Part of her presentation was showing a whiskey flask that was recently unearthed on the grounds while work is being done.

PARKERSBURG — Work is underway to restore the Oakland property along Seventh Street in Parkersburg.

Senta Goudy, executive director of the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Foundation, gave an update to the local Altrusa chapter Thursday on work being done at the historic Stephenson Home.

The home of James McNeil Stephenson came under the care of the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Foundation in late December 2015. The foundation accepted Oakland, the mansion built by Stephenson in 1832 and the six acres that encompass its grounds at 1131 Seventh St., as a gift from Stephenson’s great-great grandson John Lutz and his wife, Pamela.

The foundation has plans to turn the home into a residence for the university’s president when they first locate to the area and it will be a focal point for college functions.

“We feel the house would help draw people in from all over the country,” Goudy said.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Harry Biles Jr., caretaker of Oakland, points to where hand-carved curled steps were outside the home. The steps are being restored and will be placed back. Drainage work, electrical work and plumbing upgrades are being done to restore the historical home.

The house has artifacts throughout left by the family over the years. A lot of the home’s original furnishings, much of which is from the 1800s built from trees that originally stood on the grounds, were included when the foundation took possession of the home.

“It is like a time capsule for the development of Parkersburg,” Goudy said.

Goudy showed a whiskey flask that was unearthed while digging was going on around the property.

“We have to dig to do some of the work we have to do,” she said of recently finding the flask.

Goudy mentioned stories of Union officers who stayed at the house during the Civil War, before West Virginia became a state, when Union forces had taken over Parkersburg. She believes the flask could have belonged to one of the officers, because they would have been in the position to have one at the time.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Restoration of the Stephenson Home, also known as Oakland, on Seventh Street includes upgrading the electrical. Crews have had to cut through three layers of plaster to put in the lines.

The flask will eventually go on display in the house once the renovation is complete.

It is the intent of the foundation to preserve the history of the home and of Stephenson, officials said.

Stephenson (Nov. 4, 1796-April 16, 1877) was a local lawyer, politician and banker with many business developments throughout the region. He represented Tyler, Wood, Ritchie and Doddridge counties in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1839 to 1848. He was elected as the second president of the Northwestern Bank of Virginia, forerunner of the Parkersburg National Bank, now United Bank. He married Agnes Miller Boreman, sister of Arthur I. Boreman, later the first governor of West Virginia.

The home has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

Engineering inspections determined the house was in sound shape.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Restoration is underway at the Stephenson Home. Plans are to keep as much of the original look as possible while modernizing the home. A chandelier that burned whale oil in the front hallway is one of the items organizers want to be maintained.

“We haven’t had to do anything to stabilize the building,” Goudy said. “It is still in incredible shape.”

The restoration began Jan. 3.

The foundation has secured the services of the engineering firm, the Thrasher Group of Bridgeport, to develop plans on what can be done with the approximately 6,000-square-foot home.

Starting around Christmas, volunteers packed up and moved items so the restoration could begin. A 1913 Steinway Grand Piano, 23 lamps, 50 chairs, 100 dog statues and over 3,000 books and periodicals were cataloged and packed.

Paintings, family photos and more have also been packed up and moved into storage. The piano has been restored.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Furnishings in the Stephenson Home, also known as Oakland, on Seventh Street were moved to the center of the rooms and covered while restoration continues.

Once the house is restored, a lot of those items will be returned to the home. Goudy talked about having a way for people to “adopt a chair” and donate money to restore it.

“We are going to need some help in the cost to restore some of these things,” Goudy said.

Pieces of furniture were left in the home and covered up while work occurs around it in rooms.

Central air and heat will be added to the house. The plumbing and electric are being updated, and improvements made to storm water drainage.

Workers are removing the wallpaper that was throughout the home and repairing the 185-year-old plaster. The 10 fireplaces throughout the house are being cleaned, resealed and having the gaslines to them removed.

Work is being done to restore the hand-carved curled steps outside the home.

“We are restoring, yet modernizing,” Goudy said. “We are making sure everything is up to code.”

To do some of the work, workers have had to cut through three layers of plaster to run the electrical. A lot of the restoration is being done by Allegheny Restoration of Morgantown.

Once the electrical work is done, the plaster will be restored to its original quality. “They won’t destroy anything they don’t have to,” Goudy said. “They want to put everything back as close to original as possible.”

The restoration work is expected to be completed in June.

“We hope to be able to start moving everything back in then,” Goudy said.

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