From the 1800s to the 21st century, a house in Westerville continues to stand the test of time.
When Laurie Greco and her husband Jefferson Barlew purchased their home in 2018, they became part of Westerville history. The Greco-Barlew home was originally constructed in 1820 by Gideon Hart after his father was granted the 380 acres for serving in the Revolutionary War, making it the oldest home in Westerville.
“When we were doing our home search, we initially looked in more urban areas, but we love old historic homes,” Barlew says. “When we saw that it was the oldest home in Westerville, we thought we’d look just for kicks.”
Though Greco and Barlew didn’t necessarily plan to move to Westerville, as soon as they laid eyes on the historic home, they immediately fell in love. And when they moved in with their three Boston terriers, they pledged to preserve as much of its past as possible.
However, any home built in the 1800s will need regular maintenance and renovations to keep it standing as proudly as it should. Greco and Barlew knew they would have to renovate the home at some point, but after a tree fell on the house during a windstorm in spring 2018, they got a closer look at its bones. The tree severely damaged the roof and chimney, exposing the roof’s actual condition.
“When the siding came off, it revealed that it was built with barn construction, so it’s not built at all,” Barlew says. “The contractor said, ‘This would never pass code today.’ It was sort of a blessing in disguise.”
After the devastating incident, the couple immediately began repairs with preservation in mind, which we featured in the September/ October 2018 edition of Westerville Magazine.
“In terms of the interior, I wanted to preserve the historic home feeling but have modern amenities and a modern industrial farmhouse style,” Greco says.
The remodeling began around May 2018 and finished near the end of November 2018, each room seeing its own makeover, especially the kitchen and dining room.
The couple revamped the kitchen with modern stainless steel appliances, a vast farmhouse sink, hanging lights and new cabinets. Lastly, the room was painted white and grey with an extended bright blue island in the center to fit Greco’s bold personality.
“We installed a big blue island which was funny because before, we had white quartz countertops,” Barlew says. “The contractors were looking at that big blue island and were like, ‘I don’t know,’ but Laurie said, ‘I have a vision for this, don’t worry about it.’ Then it works perfectly once the counters are in.”
Although the windstorm cost the couple financially, there was a silver lining. Griffey Remodeling, Greco and Barlew’s contractor, expressed hesitation in larger renovations, but Greco was persistent. That persistence paid off when Griffey tore plaster away from one of the walls to reveal a brick wall and an unexpected fireplace underneath.
“We realized it was an old cooking fireplace,” Barlew says. “It still has the original iron handle from 1820 and the bricks. It opened that whole space up to be displayed and showcased the fireplace well.”
The couple and Griffey theorized that the fireplace had been plastered over long ago, and the original indoor chimney had been removed. However, thanks to the fateful windstorm, they were able to restore it to its former glory with the external bricks.
“Because the tree had fallen on the roof and knocked the old chimney down, we were able to replace the fireplace’s old bricks with the chimney’s bricks because there's no way we could get modern bricks that look like that,” Barlew adds. “So, it maintained its complete character because we had the old bricks to use.”
Thanks to Barlew and Greco’s stewardship of the Gideon Hart house, the 200-year-old home in Westerville will hopefully stand the test of time for another 200 years with a renewed sense of strength.
Mariah Muhammad is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
