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A storied home: Restoration leads biologist on journey through history
When Kurt Reber bought an old house north of Lovettsville last year, little did he know the historical journey the purchase would take him on.
Much of that history is still a mystery to Reber. He is gradually trying to puzzle out clues to his house's past.
Before this started, Reber had rented a place on Tally Ho Farm, a mile east of Lovettsville, for six years and wanted to buy a place of his own.
But the self-proclaimed “lab rat” biologist did not have enough money for most places in Loudoun County – not until he noticed a small “For Sale" sign on an old building near the Potomac River bridge that stretches from Loudoun to Brunswick, Md.
“I was just looking for a place I could afford,” Reber said.
When he took a friend -- a real estate agent -- to look at the building, the friend realized its historical significance and thought it would be a good investment for Reber.
Thus began the journey.
Looking back at property records, Reber found that the site where the building sits was recorded as a 16- or 17-acre site in 1817 but only as a 1-acre site in 1837.
Inside the building, an inscription on the left corner of an upstairs wall says "LA Cost, 1852," so Reber and Tom Bullock, the contractor hired to complete the restoration, think the structure was built then.
Bullock, who owns Bull's Eye Contracting & Restoration, is the chairman of the Lovettsville Historical Society, so the project is of great interest to him.
The two think that the building is one of two tollhouses that were built in the area over the centuries. The tollhouses were used to collect fares from travelers crossing the river from Maryland into Virginia.
Reber speculates that the other tollhouse, which isn't there anymore and was closer to the river, could have been used for the bridge, while his house could have been used when a ferry took passengers between the two states.
It took Reber eight months to get county approval for his project. There was no recorded septic tank on file for the property when he first applied, so the property had to be condemned. He worked through the process and got it approved.
The building has never been recorded as a house, which leads Reber to believe even more strongly that it was used for public property as a tollhouse.
Dutchman's Creek runs behind the house -- fitting since Reber is of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage.
Sitting alongside the creek is another mystery for Reber. Etched on a large rock is a drawing of a house with a star drawn in the left corner.
In the center are the initials "HCW" and what appears to be the date "3/30." The numbers "1897" appear too, although the 7 is faint and could be a 9. Beside the drawing are the numbers "3333."
When the remodeling is finished later this summer, Reber will have a top floor with a bedroom and full bathroom and a main floor with a living area, kitchen and a half bath.
The basement area has a rough-in for a full bathroom if Reber ever decides to put one in.
Reber is still living in his rented place on the farm during the renovations. For a while, the long struggle to get approval combined with the house's mystery got him thinking the house was cursed. But now that the project has taken shape, he's feeling good about it.
“I'm very pleased with what's going on,” he said.
The outside of the house and foundation is all stone, which explains why it has stood for so long.
“I can't wait to get running water,” Reber said, adding that he wants to wash all of the stone to give it a “wet look.”
Reber wants to build a gazebo on the property that he may open to the public.
He's trying to get the house listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and has recently joined the Lovettsville Historical Society with Bullock.
“Now that I've learned so much about Loudoun and Lovettsville, it just feels right [to join the society],” Reber said.
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