OAKLEY, Idaho (AP) - Some people in town thought the house should be razed and even offered a loan of heavy equipment to do it, but one Oakley couple saw value in the stockade-style home built by people who rolled west in covered wagons.
Colleen and Joe Stritenberger purchased the home in 2010 for $7,500, which was only for the one-acre lot.
“There isn’t any value attached to the home,” Colleen said.
The home was owned by the Orem and Roberta Gee family and was occupied by a member of the family, who Colleen said delicately, “was a bit of a hoarder.”
The Stritenbergers spent the last seven years hauling trash from the home and property and stripping the home to the bones. The work on the home remains in progress, but the couple is ready to show it off during the annual Oakley Historic Home Tour on June 17.
The self-guided tour starts at 9 a.m. and will include about a half-dozen homes. The proceeds are used by the Oakley Valley Historical Association to benefit the museum, operated by volunteers and through donations. The funds are also used for historic projects in the city.
“It’s so interesting to see how ordinary people live in these homes,” said Marge Woodhouse, Oakley Valley Historical Association treasurer.
The event was started by Woodhouse and the late Kent Hale in the 1970s to raise money for the museum.
“It takes about three hours for the tour if people are really clipping along,” Woodhouse said.
The homes close at 3 p.m.
RESTORING THE PAST
“Welcome to nightmare on Elm Street,” Colleen said as she stood with a smile on her face at the gateway to the property.
What others may shudder to encounter, the couple began to lovingly restore.
The 800-square-foot house has a living and dining room, kitchen, back porch and one large bedroom that was upstairs - stairs that are currently missing but will be replaced.
The stockade architecture has vertical planks for walls, a style used in army forts that lent strength to the structure, Joe Stritenberger said.
Although the porches rotted away and the roof was gone, the home’s structure is remarkably well preserved.
The couple did not opt to use the original style wooden shingles but to leave a portion of the inner walls visible inside to showcase the stockade planking. The remaining walls will have drywall so insulation can be installed.
The home has a rock foundation and they found all the original window frames. They also acquired the woodstove and several pieces of furniture that were original to the home. They are also using period siding and flooring.
The kitchen cabinets will be repainted and reused and an island will be installed in the kitchen with the original enamel sink and new hardware. All the electrical and plumbing systems will be replaced.
What’s missing is a bathroom. The couple hopes one can be installed in the space that is now the back porch. Whether that can be accomplished will depend on whether the right drop in elevation exists between the house and a septic tank on the property. If not, they will construct a period-style outhouse.
Colors for the exterior of the home - shades of pink, green and white - were inspired by a gift of decorative pieces for the gables.
“People stop by all the time to look and see what we’re doing,” Colleen said.
Originally the homesteaded property included 137 acress, and there is a complete abstract for the property tracing its history.
“At this point the paperwork is more valuable than the property,” Colleen said.
PLANS FOR HOME
Once completed the couple will open a store at the home called Granny’s Attic, which will have antiques for sale and book tea parties.
One of the couple’s passions is hunting for antiques, so selling a few of them will help make room for new pieces, Colleen said.
For the Stritenbergers, who restored another historic home on Wilson Street where they live, this will be the first time opening a home to the public during the tour.
“It’s starting to come together,” Collen said, “and we’re really excited.”
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Information from: The Times-News, https://www.magicvalley.com
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