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Canal Winchester home rich in history
(by Linda Dillman, Staff Writer - November 28, 2011)
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The historic DelGrosso home on West Columbus Street in Canal Winchester as it looks today.
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The historic DelGrosso home on West Columbus Street in Canal Winchester as it looked in the early 20th century.
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Carol and Michael DelGrosso moved into the house more than 20 years ago and continue to renovate the historic Canal Winchester home which was built in the mid-1850s.
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The pursuit of a lost piece of walnut banister led Canal Winchester residents Michael and Carol DelGrosso across a community they've called home for two decades.
Living in the stately brick Italian-style house perched at the west end of Columbus Street, the couple look upon themselves as caretakers rather than owners of the more-than 150-year-old structure that once stood isolated at the then village boundary.
The walls are multiple-brick thick, many windows still feature the original wavy glass and pulley system, and wood molding throughout the house is believed to have been crafted from trees grown on the property. The DelGrosso's are fairly certain brick used to construct the home was fired on site.
"Our former house in Victorian Village was built in the 1880s and we took over its restoration," said Michael. "We started looking for a bigger place and were told about this home. We came down here, a 12-year-old boy took us on a tour, we fell in love with it. We moved in and were invited to a neighborhood block party on Labor Day. That started the quest 20 years ago to find a missing piece of banister we wanted to restore."
The DelGrosso's began making inquiries about the handrail. The end of the banister was cut off from the intricate, winding, walnut staircase during an early 1960s-era temporary dividing of the house into apartments when the staircase was walled up to block access.
"I was given part of a handrail by a young doctor, but it wasn't our handrail," said Michael. "I realized I had someone else's handrail. I was then told about a handrail at a yard sale and bought it, but it wasn't the right one either. Someone else was missing part of their staircase and now I'm holding onto someone else's history."
Despite a 10-year hunt, Michael never found the missing end of the staircase, which the couple consider the centerpiece of their home, and ended up crafting his own replacement. It features a wooden acorn-an old tradition celebrated when mortgages were paid off.
"We also did a lot of other work," said Michael. "We re-did the stone walkway, floors, the roof, and replaced a beautiful 1950s-era Chrysler furnace that looked like the front of a car. It was amazing. We have heat downstairs, but there still is no heat upstairs, only a woodburning stove. That's our last endeavor. We're fortunate to be living here, but we know we're just passing through like all the other people who have lived in this house. The house owns itself and it always will. When we leave, we want to make sure we leave a nice footprint."
John Helpman and his wife, Sarah, were two of the earliest owners and acquired the house and a little over six acres of land in 1865 for $1,000 from John Karnes, who had lived on the property as early as 1856. Originally, the home's front property line was the municipal border of the village and not included in Canal Winchester maps or records until the parcel was annexed into the village.
While the construction date of the original structure (in the past, a wrap-around porch was taken down and an addition built on the south side) is unknown, the house dates to the mid-1850s.
In the basement, where original brick support columns and foundation are surrounded by concrete poured at the turn of the 20th century when the basement was dug out by hand, the name "Ruth Been" and "1906" are scratched into a concrete slope near a staircase landing. Another name is inscribed on a stone by a shed.
"These are the people who touched the house so many years ago," said Michael.
Prior to the installation of central heating in the early 1900s, each room was heated by small coal stoves venting into one of four original chimneys.
The DelGrosso's were told previous owners boarded over a brick wall in an upstairs closet because shirts hanging in the closet were freezing to the wall in the winter time.
Many owners have occupied the stately house and the DelGrosso's feel they are serving as caretakers to history.
"It would be nice if there was an Ancestry.com for houses," said Michael. "If anyone knows anything about our home, I would love for them to contribute to our history."
| Comments (4) |
On April 16, 2012 Michael said:
I remember the house very well from 1988 until about 1990 when I was dating the oldest daughter of the family that lived there for many years back then. I've since married her. That family did an enormous amount of work making the original restorations in the 1980s. Hopefully they will see this article and comment on all that they did and found while doing it. By the time I had gotten there in 1988 it had been restored to amazing beauty and authenticity. I loved everything about that beautiful house and marveled at their great craftsmanship and attention to detail in bringing it back to life and to its true character. |
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On April 14, 2012 JoAnn said:
I lived in this house back in 1975 after my great grandmother passed away. I was single and I was renting it from Mr and Mrs Oyler. Then it was a upstairs apartment and a downstairs apartment. I lived upstairs. I loved it. Especially the large windows in the living room and the very large bathroom with the old fashioned tub with legs on it. I also enjoyed the fact that I could walk from one room to another...around and around that beautiful staircase. I spent many nights during severe weather sitting on those steps at the bottom for safety. The only thing I didn't like was the metal fire escape in the back. It was really slick in the wintertime ! However it was pretty in the spring after I planted morning glories and let them climb up.I loved living there and I was sad when I had to move. |
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On April 14, 2012 Barb said:
This home was brought back from devastation by a fellow named Art Stiles. He was an executive with Cardinal Industries, a large building company in the 70's and 80's located in Columbus, OH. The company went bankrupt around 1989 or so and not sure where Art went after that. He had a hobby of designing and creating wooden jigsaw puzzles. |
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On November 28, 2011 Sandy said:
I applaud you both for restoring this wonderful house. Too many of these houses were torn down in previous years, but there seems to be a resurgence of people like yourselves who take the monumental job on of restoring a house to it's original beauty. Here, in Warren, Ohio, a group formed to save the Harriet Taylor Upton house, built in 1840. She was a prominebnt suffraget working with Susan B. Anthony. You can go to www.uptonhouse.org to see our treasure. |
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