Fairmont house from 1860s saved for history

When Dr. Orville Chubb stood in his front yard in 1867, he saw a dusty road, perhaps a structure or two off in the distance.

If you were to stand in the same spot today, your eyes would fall on busy traffic, a business office, and parking lots. But turn around, and you will see exactly the same sight Chubb saw -- his home.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house has been nearly restored to its original condition by a group of Fairmont residents with a passion for keeping history alive.

Chubb arrived in Fairmont, then called Fair Mount, in 1866, with his wife and daughter after a difficult journey to an environment so rugged that the sheep he had driven from Michigan died their first winter here.

Chubb worked with the few other residents of Fair Mount to plot the land, carving out space for Lakeview Cemetery -- where the family is now buried -- and the fairgrounds.

While living in Fort Fairmount, the Chubbs built their house at its current site, 209 Lake Av.

Bricks were made locally with clay dug from Buffalo Lake, a stone foundation was laid, and the builders employed hand-hewn supports to hold up the structure.

Inside the house, a mixture of woods was used -- presumably because there was no local lumber yard. Pine door frames and staircase landings are interspersed with walnut window frames upstairs and walnut risers and boards on the stairs.

Twelve-inch-thick walls are stuffed with horsehair to act as a moisture barrier between the exterior and interior walls.

The Chubbs lived in the house for nearly a decade before moving briefly to Omaha to stay near their college-bound daughter. After they moved out, G.L. Livermore used the house as an inn, after which the structure became a private residence again until 1990, when Martin County bought it with the intention of razing it and expanding the Law Enforcement Center parking lot.

City's oldest building

It was then that Orel Barker stepped in, incensed that the city's oldest building would be discarded for such a purpose. Barker found kindred spirits and in 1992 formed the Martin County Preservation Association, a group for which she now serves as president.

The group went before county commissioners with research showing the historic value of the house and imploring them not to tear it down.

Mary Don Kislingbury, an original Preservation Association member, recalls that the group considered moving the house, but was reluctant to do so because historic value is based on buildings remaining on their original site.

Newspaper articles from the time quote Commissioner Steve Pierce as saying commissioners were willing to let the Preservation Association purchase the house because it was easiest.

"At this point," he was quoted as saying in 1993, "we're trying to take the path of least resistance. We don't want to use tax dollars to buy land for parking."

However, trouble arose later when the Preservation Association found commissioners were willing to sell the house, but wanted to hold onto the back yard for a parking lot.

The issue was resolved, and the Chubb House and its lot is now owned by the Preservation Association.

The Preservation Association is still active at the Chubb House 17 years later. Barker said the home restoration was nearly complete when the group became involved in another preservation project in town -- Red Rock Center for the Arts.

At the Chubb House "we have just one bedroom upstairs [left]. We just put that on hold, because just about that time we needed to put all our efforts into the Red Rock Center, so we let that go, but now they are working on it very efficiently."

Five owners, decorating styles

The renovation has taken the group through the decorating styles of five owners, two of which were businesses, including a beauty shop, which changed the original plumbing.

The house had a sunroom added in 1937, and what Kislingbury assumes was a carport that was redone as a dining room, bathroom, and kitchen area.

Layers and layers of wallpaper, examples of which the group has preserved for show, were taken off the walls. Paneling, shag carpet and linoleum lined nearly every surface. Many coats of paint were removed from window and door frames, exposing wood graining detail on the pine boards.

"All this wood graining was redone by Orel," Kislingbury said. "You can't even tell it is not hardwood."

Some aspects of the house -- such as the bathrooms -- are not original, but have been restored to the time they were built. Other details such as chisel marks on the hand-hewn railings that line the staircases, display the building's authenticity.

The group has no photos of the original furniture, but has outfitted the rooms with era-appropriate items.

The historic house is open for tours, teas and reunions, as well as the group's annual fundraisers, including the Pioneer Stew Dinner. Held in October, the dinner is served by candlelight, the food is local and made from scratch, with servers in period dress.

The one bedroom yet to be restored is nearly complete.

"It is right back to the original as far as we can get it," Barker said.