A pre-American Revolutionary War home built before the United States existed stands as a reminder to colonial days in Ligonier.
And it’s for sale, sold as-is for $99,900.
“I have heard different folks call it the Johnson House,” said owner Sharon Craig of the property she bought in 1995.
Craig is selling the 1.5 acre property because her life circumstances have shifted, but she hopes a potential buyer sees the historic home’s potential.
The house has sat unoccupied for several years and vandals and trespassers have looted and damaged parts of the house.
“I hope someone buys it that loves history and will restore it. I started restoring it and my husband, the late Marc Di’Agostino, suffered a brain aneurysm in 1998,” Craig said. “He survived the brain surgery but he had a lot of deficits and I became his caregiver. He died two years later. He was the brains of the operation and had worked on historic homes in the Boston area.”
Craig shared the limited historical information about the home and land she’s collected from researching county records and documenting oral histories from area locals.
“It’s the best information I have, but I can’t say for total certain it’s all correct,” Craig said.
Her research revealed it appears the log house was constructed in 1763 and was originally a one-story home with with a loft.
“It actually was built about 100 feel below where it is now and was moved a year later to its current location because it was built on a seasonal spring,” Craig said.
The home built by Revolutionary War soldier Aaron Johnson who acquired a 2,000 acre land grant that originally included the land that now belongs to Idlewild Park.
“It started before we were a country and it’s old it has a few warts, but it’s definitely restorable,” said Craig of the house and small nearby cottage on the land.
Johnson’s name is carved into a log on the front porch on the first floor and Craig found numerous artifacts while living there — including a Revolutionary War buckle from a man’s shoe and a silver broach with a lapis stone.
The house has four bedrooms and one bathroom and the annual taxes are listed at $1,389.
When Craig was re-chinking (repairing cement) the home, she found a crumpled up muslin dress dating back to the 1800s. It disintegrated quickly when it was unearthed.
“Back then people would stuff the walls with all sorts of things,” Craig explained. “In the wintertime, they would pack in the livestock in the basement to keep the Indians from stealing them and the chickens even roosted on the inner foundation walls.”
Craig takes fond memories with her from her years living in Johnson House, located at 120 Saint Paul Lane on a private road off of Darlington Road.
She moved out in 2001 and the home has been unoccupied for several years.
“My favorite part was the heirloom fruit trees. There’s one original pear tree left and a Jonathan apple tree, one peach tree and the flowers,” Craig said. “The log house bedroom was my sanctuary. It had French doors to the deck and good views.”
An addition was added to the home in 1858.
Idlewild nostalgia
A small Victorian-styled cottage believed to have originally been made for wealthy Idlewild Park tourists sits on the property near the home.
Craig bought the 10 x 14 cottage in 2000 and relocated it from a man’s house along Route 30 in exchange for a case of beer and a fifth of whiskey.
“I had to gut the inside because there was mold on the inside and the cottage frame is all redwood. The cottages in Idlewild were made with Redwood. I believe it to be a former Idlewild cottage,” Craig said.
Craig is hoping someone with a love of history and restoration can restore the home to it’s colonial glory.
Listing agent Rebecca Parry noted the home is tied to the township’s utilities.
“It does have public water and sewage and it this is my first listing that has that much history,” Rebecca said. “It needs a lot of work.”