Major renovation saves 1882 home

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

When Anne and Larry Peterson moved to their Livermore ranch on Stonewall Creek in 1994, most friends and relatives thought an old farmhouse next door had a future with a bulldozer.

Anne Peterson, however, just couldn't put an end to the dilapidated house that had become home to all kinds of critters. She had visions of restoring it to the homey place it had been to the George Warren Barlow family in the 1880s.

Wheelwright and carriage maker James Cobb Barlow, George's father, had first homesteaded there, and George decided to build his own house in 1882. He married Harriet Sawin, a schoolteacher, and their children were born in the house, Peterson said.

Several families have lived in the two-story house over the years. At one time, it was moved to its present location with horses and skids. It appeared someone once tried to remodel the home but abandoned the job, leaving holes in the side of the house. "The entire back wall was caving in," Peterson said.

In 1997, the Petersons started on a complete renovation project. Putting a foundation under it was the first step. Ron Auch, owner of Eagle Peak Construction in Livermore, with sons Josh, Matt and Brandon, dug under the house section by section, pouring a foundation all around as they went. Peterson also had radiant floor heating installed so there would be no visible heat registers.

Some home features are preserved in looks only; fixtures have been replaced, keeping with the style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The brick fireplace had deteriorated and was pulling away from the house. It has been preserved but is no longer functional. The living room retains its original hardwood floors, but Peterson bought new fir for the adjacent bedrooms and had it stained to match.

After removing the "hideous linoleum from the '40s or '50s," it appeared the kitchen had a slate floor at one time, she said, and it has been replaced with modern stone tiles. The bathroom has a claw-foot tub and a sink that likely came from a railroad car. Kitchen appliances are from the turn of the century and early teens. Peterson found the original well, located under the front porch, by almost falling into it.

Much of her fun, she said, came from scouting for furnishings for the home. An upright piano came from Grand Junction. She also collects vintage clothing and has it displayed throughout the home.

One of the home's attractions, Peterson said, is its foot-thick walls made from sand, clay and lime. They keep the place warm in winter and cool in summer. The walls were, however, in sorry shape, so the Petersons installed new drywall on the surface, with new electrical wiring placed behind the drywall. They found a cache of old newspapers and a porcelain doll head inside the walls, but alas "no rolls of money or gold coins," she said.

The original door and window frames are intact, but they had to remove a giant beehive from the bay window before work on the house could proceed. The hive was full of honey, which the Petersons enjoyed, and the bees were sent to new homes.

Peterson, who grew up in Maryland, noted that the East Coast passion for preservation followed her to Colorado, but many buildings from the early West have already been lost. "There are so few of these buildings left, I thought it was important to preserve it," she said.

One of the first Barlow family buildings also still stands, and the Petersons have covered it with a freestanding roof to keep it out of the weather. Stonewall Creek Ranch also has remnants of the orchard planted by the Barlows, who sold fruit and greenhouse produce in Laramie.

"It's been a labor of love for me," Peterson said, adding that she could happily spend the rest of her life renovating historic homes.