Holiday House Tour No. 7, Oldest House in Town

Photos by Evan Brandt

Built in 1803, this property at 245 Walnut St. was the first farmhouse in Pottstown.

It is altogether appropriate that we close out the year with a stop at one of the oldest homes in town, if not necessarily THE oldest.

Located at 245 Walnut St., an 1876 map of the borough owned by the Pottstown Historical society shows this property spanned Walnut Street to Beech Street and North Penn Street on the west of the property, to approximately the middle of Walnut Street on the east.

It was owned, but not necessarily occupied by, Joseph H. Sprang, a Civil War veteran and proprietor of Sprang Brick Yards.

Local historian Mike Snyder on the

first of two Trolley Tours for the Historic

Holiday Home Tour on Dec. 8.

According to Mike Snyder, a local historian who served as the tour guide on the trolley tour, it's important to remember that until about 1830, Pottstown only had about 700 people living here.

It was not until the railroads arrived that Pottstown really took off. So it may seem strange to us today to consider this house in the middle of town was actually a farm house.

"By the 1880s and 1890s, Pottstown had a lot going for it, including two trolley lines, as well as being a stop on the railroad," Snyder said.

He told a fascinating tale about the owners of the property which I did not take notes adequate enough to do justice. You'll just have to come on the tour next year.

The home is now owned by Ron and Mary Williams.

Ron Williams is a former Pottstown School Board member, a veteran and a Native American who founded the annual PowWow on the Mantawny held every year in Memorial Park.

Ron Williams in his kitchen which was an addition to the

home built in 1803.

He said in its original form, the house had just one room. Obviously, it was expanded upon over the years.

Williams said his sister and brother-in-law restored the house, exposed the original beams, and then found another home to renovate.

But Ron and Mary liked the home so much, they bought it and moved right on in and have lived there ever since, dare I say 'happily ever after?'

The main living room at 245 Walnut St. features low ceiling and exposed beams.

The Pottstown trolley stops at 245 Walnut St. during the Pottstown Historic Holiday House Tour. This view clearly shows how the original house has been expanded out the back.

Well, that's all I've got folks.

I didn't take photos during the Trolley Tour because I was listening to Mike and taking notes.

I should remind you all that this tour not only showcases some of what is best about Pottstown, but

also serves as a fundraiser for the Pottstown GoFourth Celebration in Memorial Park in July 4th.

In other words, it helps pay for the fireworks everyone gets to enjoy for free.

And if you like what you saw in these posts, you can probably still ring in the new year with a 2020 calendar featuring 12 of the 15 amazing homes on this year's tour.

Each month features a stylized photo taken by Carol Brightbill, a gifted photographer who works for the Pottstown School District and, I might add, is an alum of The Mercury.

The calendar is also a fundraiser for GoFourth. (I've got mine!)

Or, if you're so inclined, take a moment to go to thegoFourth website and make a direct donation to help keep cool things like this happening in our town.

Speaking of which, head down to Riverfront Park tomorrow for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge into the icy waters of the Schuylkill.

(You can read all about it here in your local newspaper, The Mercury.)

You won't be disappointed, and you can just watch, I promise.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holiday House Tour No. 5, Artist in Residence

Photos by Evan Brandt

The front of 4 East Third Street.

The front door is truly remarkable.

As a resident of the numbered streets in Pottstown, I had long admired this home before I ever found
out who owned it.

When I found out if was owned by former borough councilman Mike Wentzel and his wife Jodie, a retired art teacher in the Pottstown School District, it made even more sense.

Wentzel was in the building trades and it takes an art teacher's eye to design the home's paint scheme.

Sadly, this home was on the tour only for outside viewing. I can only imagine how nice it must be inside.

According to local historian Michael Snyder, who served as the tour guide on the Trolley Tour my wife and I took this year, the home was built some time between 1890 and 1900 by a fellow named Oliver Dunlap.

Snyder said he was a foreman at Marsh and Brownback Stoveworks and said "he must have done very well for himself."

Dunlap was also a farmer and business owner, according to Snyder.

Tomorrow, we'll have another short one, a home on Walnut Street.

Holiday House Tour No. 3, A Work in Progress

Photos by Evan Brandt

This restored living room is at 541 N. Charlotte St., owned for a year by Sarah Pinard.

541 N. Charlotte St.

Welcome back.

This house won't have as many photos because owner Sarah Pinard has only been in it for a year.

The fact that she opened her house to the public after such a short time, shows remarkable forbearance.

(My wife and I have been in our home for 20 years and still don't consider it "ready." Did you hear that Amy squared?)

This house was built in 1864 and is across the street and a block north from 478 N. Charlotte and 482 N. Charlotte, which I profiled over the last two days. (Links provided in case you missed them.)

I was please to see this house on the tour because I have been curious about it for some time.

Several years ago, when I was experimenting with social media, I concocted this idea of an Instagram series on Pottstown homes and buildings as a way to promote the borough's well-preserved architecture.

Owner Sarah Pinard with a photo of what her kitchen looked 

like before it was renovated.

I walked through many Pottstown neighborhoods taking photos, but never put the whole thing
together.

Anyway, this was one of the homes I photographed and have been curious about ever since.

Much of the house tour every year is concentrated on the older part of town, mostly along North Hanover Street, where Pottstown's first elite first settled. And I love those homes, and will return to them again no doubt in later years.

Pinard in her new, larger kitchen, after knocking

out a wall.

But having those cluster of homes along North Charlotte on the tour gave us all a chance to look inside some different homes from a later period of Pottstown's development.

During the trolley tour, local historian Mike Snyder explained that this part of North Charlotte Street, in the 1830s and 1840s, was mostly undeveloped.

As a result, people used to race horses up and down the street, which would have been a sight to behold.

Also a sight to behold was the effort Pinard is willing to go to improve her home.

She showed tour-goers the wall she knocked out to double the size of her kitchen, as well as her father's efforts to move a stairway to the basement.

This require the construction of a new access door under the stairs, pictured here.

We can only hope 541 N. Charlotte will be on the tour in future years so we can see the progress.

A new, custom-built door to the basement, courtesy of Pinard's dad.

One of the more innovative things Pinard did was to preserve some of the truly remarkable wallpaper she found when she moved in and frame it as a reminder. I can't imagine installing something like this except in a child's room, but this was in the downstairs hall.

That's all for today. Come back tomorrow for photos of 259 N. Hanover St., another first-timer on the tour.

Holiday House Tour No. 2, 'Belle of Charlotte Street'

Photos by Evan Brandt

482 N. Charlotte St., Pottstown, 'The Belle of Charlotte Street,' was my second stop on my journey along Pottstown's Historic Holiday House Tour.

Even the front porch is an architectural wonder.

Blogger's Note: This is the second in an undetermined number of posts (I'm making this up as I go along) from the Dec. 8, Historic Holiday House Tour in Pottstown.

After leaving the Freese household (see previous post), my next stop was easy enough as it was next door, at 482 N. Charlotte St.

Built in 1864 for Mr. and Mrs. William Young, a prominent Pottstown businessman and lawyer who not only bought one of the first Fords in town, he also opened the first Ford dealership.

(He also build the Freese house next door in 1890).

According to the house tour guide, this home was once known as the "Belle of Charlotte Street" and one step inside makes it easy to see why.

As we noted yesterday, it was owned, at one point, by Jerry Lenfest, the founder of Comcast. Who knew our beloved Comcast all started in Pottstown?

Anyway, when he was going to sell it, Barry Robertson and his wife Nina, who lived next door in the house we profiled yesterday, purchased it to ensure it did not get cut up into apartments as so many grand Pottstown homes did in the 1970s and 1980s as the industrial employment base closed up shop and moved overseas.

The Robertsons have moved on and the home is owned by Michael DiIorio, who has taken the restoration of the home to remarkable new levels.

It has stained glass all over the house, seven working fireplaces and, DiIorio took pains to point out, the original William Morris wallpaper.

The woodwork, carpeting and overall detailed craftsmanship were matched only by DiIorio's decorating and furnishing of the house in the appropriate style.

And, like his neighbors next door, DiIorio permitted those wandering about his house to go upstairs to the second floor as well.

Let's have a look:

The stained glass in the front door as seen from the inside. As DiIorio pointed out, the dragonfly theme persists throughout the house.

The front hall.

Like the home next door, also built by William Young, the DiIorio house has a charming little nook under the stairs.

DiIorio's interest in his house is such that he had on display, a copy of a Mercury First Look at History article from February, 2008, by Mike Snyder about Robert Young, the building of the house; just one reason why Snyder was the perfect choice to be the trolley tour guide to these homes; he has written about half their builders.

The home's owner, Michael DiIorio, comfortably ensconced before one of his many fireplaces.

The dining room table was lushly set for a party of eight.

The tree in the family room.

A panoramic shot of the family room (isn't technology wonderful?)

Now, let's head upstairs.

The second floor hallway features a Tiffany ceiling lamp and an interesting wooden architectural feature at the top of the stairs.

One of the several large bedrooms serves as DiIorio's office.

The master bedroom.

The first room of the master bathroom features a walk-in shower ....

... a pair of truly unique sinks ....

... and a luxurious whirlpool tub. 

Well that's it for today's house. Tomorrow, we venture across the street to 541 N. Charlotte St. and the home of Sarah Pinard. See you tomorrow.