Two couples in two states built mountain homes inspired by two centuries – one home restored from the 18th and 19th centuries, the other a lofty, contemporary design.

By Emily Grey

THE CAPTAIN'S HOME
Revolutionary History near Charlottesville, Va.

Photographs by
Paul Calhoun

Ken and Carol Weiss’s house is actually two houses. One part of it is the Beadles House, built in 1788 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, once home to Captain John Beadles. In 1999, Ken, an aircraft broker, and Carol, a painter and retired marketing representative, bought the house and its 3.25 acres on

impulse. They loved the mountains and knew the idyllic lake would be fun for their grandkids.

They also wanted to create a homey atmosphere that Captain Beadles may have enjoyed in the years following the Revolutionary War (he rests eternally in the backyard).

Inspired by Ken’s love of history and Carol’s 20 years of living in a log home in Loudoun County, Va., the couple began an arduous 14-month labor of love with McRaven Restorations.They removed shingles, jacked up the foundation, power-washed the entire house three times, replaced the original chinking between the house’s chestnut logs and installed new plumbing and electricity.

“As soon as we had one room completed with an outlet to make coffee,” says Carol, “we put a mattress on the floor and spent weekends there.”
The front doors of their bifurcated, 2,700-square-foot cabin are constructed of wormy chestnut that’s more than two centuries old. The poplar walls, hinges and most of the window glass of the older cabin are original. Nine-by-three-inch beams with beaded edges support the ceiling. Hand-forged nails from the 1700s were found in the house.

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