This article appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of This Old House Magazine.
About This House
Built in the 1870s, when the city was a burgeoning manufacturing hub, this Victorian-era house was home to respected local businessman and county sheriff John Carlos Barber and his wife, Sarah, as well as two more generations of the family. Sold off in 1953, it then changed hands several more times. By 2010, having suffered neglect, the house was listed as abandoned; it sat vacant until 2015, when the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority acquired it.
Inside homes of this vintage, pocket doors were a defining feature—they were, as architectural conservator Andrea Gilmore of Building Conservation Associates has noted, “common in the days before central heating, when you wanted to close off certain rooms.” Original paint layers on clapboards from this era often reveal strata of the dark greens and browns favored by Victorian-era homeowners.
Queen Anne homes of this era were typically distinguished by features like double-hung windows crowned with drip lintels, Italianate columns, and broad eaves supported by ornate brackets—hallmarks of the prosperous late-Victorian period when manufacturing wealth fueled ambitious residential architecture across America’s growing cities.
Why Save It?
The 3,536-square-foot house is on a corner parcel in Battle Creek’s Old Maple Street Historic District, among other grand turn-of-the-century homes. Significant Queen Anne-style features survive, including the turreted tower, elaborate unpainted oak millwork, majolica-tile fireplace surrounds, parquet floors, and stained glass windows. The house sits just north of the city’s downtown district and is walking distance from playgrounds and parks on the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Battle Creek is a robust, culturally diverse small city that supports both up-and-coming and long-established businesses.
What It Needs?
While the roof is new and repairs have been made to the foundation and exterior woodwork, the house requires all new systems, a new kitchen and baths, and lead-paint and asbestos abatement. Some exterior wood details have to be restored, and a south-facing sunroom needs new framing and insulation.
The double-door entry survives, but the front porch has been removed and will have to be rebuilt, along with the stained glass windows’ frames. Exterior preservation covenants apply, and state tax credits may be available. Primed to retake its place among the neighborhood’s gracious homes, this house’s needs are many, but so are its potential rewards.
Pro Tip: Tom Silva, This Old House general contractor, has seen this scenario before. Looking at a similarly distressed historic home, he admitted: “My first thought was teardown—that it would be better, faster, and almost cheaper to start fresh.” But strict preservation guidelines and family ties often make restoration the only path forward.
House Stats
Price: $119,000
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Contact: Melissa Kennedy, Troxel Realty Company; kennedy@troxelrealty.com
