Information

General Description | Introduction | History | Infrastructure | Taxes | Weatherization | Architecture | Parking | Restoration | Landscaping | Incentives

• 3,600 total square feet
• Three bedrooms with walk-in closets
• Two full bathrooms
• Oak-paneled parlor
• Maid's room with walk-in closet
• Full, partially-finished basement
• Separate entry to top floor

Introduction

Imagine a grand old house streamside in the mountains in a small, historical town located in the heart of an outdoor recreational paradise, the stately house with classic period woodwork and 21 doors worth of rooms to enter. Welcome to Mansion in the Mountains.

ATV, snowmobile, bicycle or hike from your front door. The entire town of Wallace, Idaho, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Mansion in the Mountains is one of its premier homes.

Thanks to a restoration and intense maintenance program the past five years, this 100-year-old house has never looked so good in the 29 years I have owned it. The current most pressing need of the house is interior decorating. It is time for the next generation of owners.

House History

The history of this house shows several owners. A historic photo dated 1906 shows the house as one of the first three on this block, so the house dates from at least 1906. The 1910 Census lists the residents as Alma J. and Winafred Hager. He was 32 and a mining engineer. She was 29, and their daughter Isabell was 6. A Wallace directory listed their phone number as 1783.

The 1920 Census lists the residents as John Francis and Lucietia Brown. He was 64 and managed a clothing store. Lucietia, 56, was not employed. They had three daughters, Rose, Mary and Edith. The two eldest daughters were stenographers. Ira Appleman apparently was a lodger at the residence.

The Browns are not listed in the 1924 Wallace Directory. A bad copy of a photograph of the upstairs parlor says ?Home of Allen J. Olson.? The photo is undated. Where he fits in in the house ownership is unknown.

I acquired half ownership of the house from the estate of E. Gertrude English in 1977. It is my understanding that a family by the name of Vermillion also once resided at this house. I became sole owner following a divorce from Mary Mullen Green in 1979.

A Barnard photograph dated 1908 from the west hillside shows the back of the house originally did not have a balcony or a dormer in the maid’s room. The photograph at the Wallace Public Library shows a window where the door now is and lattice enclosing the back porch.

The house has had no other known structural changes other than the addition of a second chimney in about 1978. Repairs have been made to the back porch, balcony decking and front steps (total replacement).

1. Roof: The current composition roof was installed in 1986. There are currently no leaks
2. Heating: There are two heat sources, either of which will heat the house. The best is a combination of both. The first is a central heating gas furnace in the basement. The current 80 percent efficient gas furnace was installed in about 1995. The second is a wood stove in the living room and vented by the second chimney. This stove has a mortared brick base and an air space between its back tiled wall and the main wall. This stove is old but still functional. Other options also are possible, such as an oil, pellet or gas stove. Gas heating expense is unknown because I heat 95 percent with the wood stove.
3. Electrical: A 200-amp breaker electrical box was installed in 1977. Some circuits are new and some are old. 220 volt outlets in clothes dryer area and kitchen range. Gas and electrical service provided by Avista.
4. Water: Metered from water main on First Street. Plumbed for hot and cold water on all three levels. Water provided by local water district with base rate of $38.50 per month. Electric, insulated water heater in basement. Gas line and a T two feet away for gas water heater potential.
5. Laundry: Washer hookup. Dryer is vented with option of gas or electric heat. Two large concrete tubs with spouts next to washer and dryer. Laundry area mahogany paneled.
6. Kitchen: Double porcelain sink installed about 1978. Wall vent fan installed in 2006. New sub floor and vinyl installed in 1996. Built-in dishwasher.

$1,187 paid last year.

Attic has blown-in insulation that met 1977 standards. No known insulation in the walls. All exterior doors fully weather stripped. Two-thirds of the house has storm windows. All leaks and cracks sealed in the basement and around exterior.

Front Victorian columns. Large bay window. Seven leaded glass windows. Ten-foot ceilings. Oak floors entirely on main floor aside from kitchen and bathroom. Handsome staircase. Oak-paneled parlor upstairs with two fluted columns and dark wood beams. Wood paneled bedroom upstairs. Rear balcony. Dining room entry arch. All push button electrical switches. All antique brass and glass ceiling light fixtures, even in the closets. Old concrete carriage rails on north side of house.

In concrete driveway and on First Street in front of the house. No garage. (Interior parking available a half block away.)

Restoration began in 2001 and included: extensive cleaning and oiling of oak floors, painting of all walls and ceilings, refinishing of five doors, replacing the back porch, replacing the balcony decking, refinishing and installation of antique brass and glass ceiling lights, replacing some electrical toggle switches to original push button switches, stripping paint from brass hinges on 20 doors (35 doors counting kitchen cabinets and two medicine cabinets), restoration of old countertop, replacement of one countertop, construction of a microwave oven shelf with under light, sealing and painting of basement wood ceiling.

Property has four large trees. In front are two elm trees trimmed in 2005. In the back yard are a large spruce tree and a crab apple tree whose spring pink blossoms are a spectacle. Syringa shrub adjacent to front porch. Complete new sod in yard laid in 2005.

Coming with the house purchase are all current window coverings (curtains and blinds) and six cords of red fir firewood, split and stacked in the basement (about $2,500 worth of gas heat). Also available through negotiation are:

1. Kitchen range and refrigerator, washer and gas dryer, and homemade mahogany clothes folding table
2. Sofa
3. Upright piano
4. Refinished antique dining room set with four chairs
5. Large oak buffet (side board)
6. Queen-sized antique brass bed (from a Wallace hotel) and a second standard, skirted bed with wood head frame
7. Refinished oak dresser with six drawers
8. Oak desk