Feb. 10, 2011 - According to volume two of The History of Leonard, in 1929, the Davys- A. S. "Add" and Mamie - built what was then the third brick house in Leonard. It was also one of the first to have indoor plumbing. "Add", however, would not abandon the old-style wooden outdoor toilet, and had one placed near the back alley. While the rest of the family enjoyed the indoor toilet, Mr. Davy continued to use the "out-back facility" for several more years. He is quoted as saying, "You never know when the new sewer system contraption may break down." In the year 2004 (the current year of publication for The History of Leonard - Volume II), the red brick house was still occupied. It is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Collins and Parmele. Lois Harvey and family have occupied the home since January of 1985.
In between the Davy's ownership of the house and Harvey, madam Bill Ross - who later married Carrie Ferguson - lived in the home and raised her children there. Bill Ross Ferguson is remembered as saying that she lived in the home for 37 years.
The home is red brick with a pier and beam foundation and has hardwood floors throughout. It had a front porch, living room, three bedrooms, a large dining room, a bath and a kitchen with a pantry. There were three exterior doors - a front door, a back door in the kitchen and a door exiting the master bedroom to a carport on the east side. The house has had very few structural changes - just minor things that came with the passing of time in order to bring the home into the next era as things changed. Bill Ferguson added central heat and air conditioning, had carpet laid in some rooms and linoleum laid in the kitchen, removed a partition between the living room and dining room to open the space up, replaced the coal-burning insert in the fireplace with gas logs, and added closets to some bedrooms, making the dining room a tad bit smaller. The front porch shows signs of being screened in at one time and the carport on the east side of the house is narrow, indicating that it was most likely built for a Model A or T. It has been reported that Miss Bill scooted one of the brick posts at one time, possibly with her car. There is also evidence that a brick post has been removed and been replaced with a metal post. Brick forming a walkway to the master bedroom door is believed to have come from the original brick post. Harvey has closed in the carport and the back porch was turned into a utility room at some point in time.
The grounds of the home now host the work of Harvey's green thumb and part of her large collection of rocks, with flowers, plants and rocks in just about every space available. Harvey states the hardwood floors are very good quality and still in beautiful condition, and the original glass door knobs remain intact.
TrackBack URI for this entry
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|