This house stood out to me whenever driving along Butler Pike to Broad Axe. There was something on that property that really stood out to me, and that was the well. It doesn't look like it was used, but I'm happy that whomever owned that property, they kept the well. What I also like about this place was that they also kept the stone entry to the house with the words engraved "Wyndhurst." This indicates this place is DEFINITELY old. But how old? Let's dive in:
Let's take a look at the exterior of the house. Unfortunately I don't have the photograph of the house (I was afraid I was invading someone's privacy). But I have Google Maps. Not the best quality picture, but I'm giving it a try.
Overall, it's a framed building. Luckily on the 1916 map, it provided a legend key, showing what material the buildings were made out of. In the 1916 map, the building was colored in yellow, meaning the building was a framed (clapboard) building. Behind the house was a barn (not sure if the current residents are using it since it's still there). On the east facade (front entry), it has a porch. It also has at least 2 hipped dormers on the roof. Hipped dormers were more common in the 20th century, so I would say it was added during that time. Same for the square window on the attic floor.
It's very difficult to decypher this architecture style, but I'm pulling piece by piece to find my conclusion. This building has been altered and added throughout the years that I'm afraid they took away the earlier architectural features of the house. I'm sure this house stood during the 19th century, or possibly earlier.
The thing is... we don't know if the house was building during the 1800s. It could be built earlier, and it was altered/added later on by new owners. Speaking of owners...
The earliest map I could find was from 1871. The property was owned by Joseph B. Stackhouse. He was born on May 10, 1819, the son of Stephen and Mary Stackhouse. He was not a Whitpain native. He was born in Mount Holly, NJ. It's unknown when he came to Whitpain, but he was found in the 1850 census data, and in that census data, he was a carpenter, and 34 years old at that time. Also in the census data it listed his wife Susanna and his 2 kids: George and Mary. He died on April 24, 1897.
He married more than once. According to Ancestry, he had 3 wives, and a total of 15 children.
His first wife Susanna Bernhard (1813-1851) died a year after the census data came out, possibly after she gave birth to their youngest daughter Amanda. With Susanna he had 3 kids:
George Armin (1846-1863)- found on Find A Grave; I assumed he died and fought during the Civil War, but there's no evidence to prove this
Mary Susanna (1848-1926)- found on Find A Grave
Amanda (1851-1932)
His second wife Lavinia F Kibblehouse (1827-1879) and their 9 children:
Henry (1852-)
Caroline "Clara" (1855-1928)- found on Find A Grave
Millard Fillmore (1856-1862)- found on Find A Grave
Anna (1859-1917)
Abigail (1860-1879)
John (1863-)
Phebe (1863-)
Joseph M. (1865-1938)- found on Find A Grave
Ulysses Grant (1868-)- found on Find A Grave
His third wife Lydia Ann Bealer (1852-1936) and their 3 children:
William (1881-1913)
Armin (1883-1968)
Katherine (1887-1975)
It's unknown what happened to Joseph B. Stackhouse, but I'm happy to say that his house is still standing to this day. In 1916, the house was occupied by a woman named Effie P. Newcomb. It's currently owned by a local resident.
It seems that this resident wanted to maintain and preserve his/her home. The landscape of the property is beautiful and stunning, looking like it's in the middle of the woods. The pathway to the barn is still intact too.
Kudos to those residents!
This is the most littlest research I've even done so far. I did try to research more information about Joseph B. Stackhouse before, but there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I pretty much gave up to that point.
Bibliography:
"Distance Calculator." DaftLogic. Accessed May 28, 2020. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.
"Find A Grave." Find A Grave. Accessed May 28, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com.
Hopkins, G.M. Atlas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Page 031, 1871.
McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guilde to American Houses. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017): xvi.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 28, 1916.
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