Buckman House circa 1848
In-depth research by historian Mamré Marsh Wilson showed Thomas Bratcher made the first entry for lot 64 Old Town on May 1, 1778. The house, however, was most likely built in the mid-1840s for Guy E. Buckman after he purchased the lot from Joseph H. Hackburn of Craven County.
In 1852 David and Susan Davis Wharton purchased the property from Guy Buckman for $600. What may have initially been built as a single-family home, shortly afterward became a boarding house. In The Story of the Methodists in the Port of Beaufort, Amy Muse, noted “in 1852 our preacher, Abram Weaver, stayed with ‘Miss Susan’ Wharton on Anne Street.”
The original house was a very simple two-story, five-bay, center-hall plan structure with double front porches running the entire length of the house. It contained six rooms, all sixteen-feet square—three on each level. Also included were two eight-foot by sixteen-foot rooms on the back lower level connected by a wide covered passageway or dogtrot.
In 1870 the home was remodeled as a duplex. Thirty-five years later, soon after the home was purchased by Benjamin J. Bell, the front porches were reduced. A few years later, another remodeling by Bell resulted in joining the two small two-story front porches.
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| 1999 |
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| 1999 |
During the extensive restoration, the Hollinsheds discovered much about the house, including the fact that the house remained in its original “footprint.” While elevating the house, to place it on its brick foundation, the original “fat-lighter stump,” or lightwood foundation blocks, were discovered. The pattern of the new brickwork foundation was laid in a “pigeonhole” fashion to allow for ventilation.
The individually-pegged mortise-and-tenon framing-joint members—with large wooden pegs to connect and wedges to level—were found numbered in Roman numerals, hand-marked with an ax-like tool known as an adz. Found and simply refinished were the original ten-inch sturdy heart-pine floors, joined by tongue-and-groove joints.
The original mantles and hand-made doors remained on the west side of the house. At some time, perhaps during an earlier remodeling, the ones on the east side had been removed and replace with late Victorian, factory-made mantles and doors.
In the attic, on the front part of the house, some of the original sawn juniper shingles were retained. The brick chimneys found within the framework of the house were constructed of sun-dried, handmade brick; they had deteriorated to such an extent that they had to be removed. The old brick cistern in the rear of the house also had to be demolished.
Due to rot and termite damage, the back portion of the house had to be completely reconstructed, which included bulldozing the ell portion of the house that once contained a second kitchen, a bathroom and an entry to the back yard. The reconstruction was recessed a foot to note a more recent addition.
Over the years many of the original windowpanes had been replaced with regular glass. Considering the sturdy but simple construction of the house, the builder would have logically opted for the least expensive seedy wavy pane. In order to be as historically correct as possible, owners researched, found and replaced broken glass with reproduction hand-blown glass.
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| Painting by Mary Warshaw |
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BELLS AND MERWINS
Benjamin James Bell (1841–1914), son of William and Cornelia Bell, married Sarah D. Potter on February 12, 1866.
Sarah was the daughter of William Jackson Potter and Elizabeth Davis Potter. After Sarah’s death in 1904, Benjamin married Jennie McRacken Dill (1869–1942), daughter of William and Sophia Baker McRacken.
A 1907 fire insurance policy issued to Hiram Abif Whitehurst, for his dwelling on Orange Street, noted Benjamin J. Bell as agent for Hamburg-Bremen, a German company. The premium on the three-year coverage was $7.50.
The 1910 census noted sixty-eight-year-old Benjamin, wife Jennie and stepdaughter Sophia Dill in the house on Ann Street. At that time Benjamin’s occupation was listed as “fish factory—fertilizer.” His 1914 death certificate noted his occupation as “city clerk.”
Sophia Dill (1891–1993) married Nathan W. Merwin in 1916. Their daughter Elizabeth was born on July 13, 1918. In the house in 1920 were Jennie Bell along with Nathan, Sophia and toddler Elizabeth Merwin. The Merwins were in Washington, DC in 1930, where Nathan was an accountant with the US Government. The Merwins returned to Beaufort.
After the deaths of Sophia’s mother in 1942 and Nathan Merwin in 1948, Sophia and her daughter Elizabeth lived alone in what had become known as the “Jennie Bell House.” When Sophia died in 1993 at the age of 101, Elizabeth had lived seventy-four years, of what would be her eighty-year life, under the watchful eye of an eccentric and domineering mother. The proud ladies had little money and refused any sort of assistance or “hand outs.” They spent all their time in the upstairs bedrooms and fed the invading raccoons. Although Sophia and Elizabeth were very reclusive, they were periodically seen walking together—covered from head to foot.
Sarah was the daughter of William Jackson Potter and Elizabeth Davis Potter. After Sarah’s death in 1904, Benjamin married Jennie McRacken Dill (1869–1942), daughter of William and Sophia Baker McRacken.
A 1907 fire insurance policy issued to Hiram Abif Whitehurst, for his dwelling on Orange Street, noted Benjamin J. Bell as agent for Hamburg-Bremen, a German company. The premium on the three-year coverage was $7.50.
The 1910 census noted sixty-eight-year-old Benjamin, wife Jennie and stepdaughter Sophia Dill in the house on Ann Street. At that time Benjamin’s occupation was listed as “fish factory—fertilizer.” His 1914 death certificate noted his occupation as “city clerk.”
Sophia Dill (1891–1993) married Nathan W. Merwin in 1916. Their daughter Elizabeth was born on July 13, 1918. In the house in 1920 were Jennie Bell along with Nathan, Sophia and toddler Elizabeth Merwin. The Merwins were in Washington, DC in 1930, where Nathan was an accountant with the US Government. The Merwins returned to Beaufort.
After the deaths of Sophia’s mother in 1942 and Nathan Merwin in 1948, Sophia and her daughter Elizabeth lived alone in what had become known as the “Jennie Bell House.” When Sophia died in 1993 at the age of 101, Elizabeth had lived seventy-four years, of what would be her eighty-year life, under the watchful eye of an eccentric and domineering mother. The proud ladies had little money and refused any sort of assistance or “hand outs.” They spent all their time in the upstairs bedrooms and fed the invading raccoons. Although Sophia and Elizabeth were very reclusive, they were periodically seen walking together—covered from head to foot.
Elizabeth Merwin attended Corcoran School of the Arts for one year and returned to Beaufort in 1938. She worked on Piver's Island at the US Marine Fisheries with Dr. Herbert F. Prytherch. Schooled in heraldry, the talented Miss Merwin designed the plaque for historic homes over 100 years old, as well as many coats of arms, even one for Miss Annie Morton’s dog “Beans.” She also designed the windows of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Morehead City.
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HEART PINE
by Joe Hollinshed
Southern long-leaf pine, if allowed to mature, will stop adding new branches and no longer continue to grow taller. It takes well over 100 years for a tree to reach this stage. The tap-room system continues to pump rich resins into the trunk during this slow growth stage. Because the resulting new growth is much slower, annual growth rings can be as many as fifty to an inch. This dense wood is the most desirable wood for lumber.
The word “heart” refers to the resin in the wood and not to the center of the trunk. The resin gives this lumber its deep honey-red color.
This dense wood with its abundant resin is extremely heavy and difficult to mill. The resin, or gum, in the wood plays havoc with the teeth of the mill saw, requiring constant sharpening. Once manufactured this lumber now becomes some of the most beautiful wood available.
When timber is harvested for the winter, the remaining root system will continue to pump the rich resins into the stump as the weather warms. This concentrated resin in the stump creates what is commonly called “fat lighter.” These stumps, more resistant to rot and termites are harvested as a separate product from the timber of the tree. In the past these stumps were shipped to Georgia where they became a source of a certain nitrate used in the manufacture of dynamite and other high explosives. Also, fat-lighter or lightwood stumps are the best source for kindling, a quick starter for fireplaces and cooking fires.
The recycling of heart-pine lumber has become an industry over the past fifty years. Along with lumber salvaged from buildings, old growth logs removed from river bottoms are the main source for this “new” building material.