Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Where We Live: Turn of the century Victorian in West Point

Though Chris Hannes could hear the ocean from his previous digs in California, the quaint historic town of West Point had enough charm to lure him east. 

“My sister and her family live down the street, so I would visit the village for the holidays for almost 10 years,” Chris said. When 1002 Lee Street came up for sale, he was immediately drawn to the home.

“Even though it was empty, it felt so warm,” Chris said. “The sun just comes in from all directions. It’s almost magical how the light reflects off different things.”

The home had fallen into some disrepair, as the previous owner was unable to give the home the care it needed. And since the home was more than a century old – public records say it was built in 1900, but Chris has found references to the home as far back as 1884 – Chris knew the home was being sold “as-is.”

“I knew whatever was possibly wrong, I owned,” Chris said.

But the home had a view of the Mattaponi River from the backyard, and the allure of living in a small village like West Point, flush with historic homes and businesses dating around the late 1800s and early 1900s, sealed the deal.

“I think it’s a beautiful place to live,” Chris said. “It’s a great walking town. I always walk to the post office, dry cleaners, antique stores. People are very friendly and everybody waves to each other.”

Chris purchased the home and dove right in. He did a deep clean inside and out, pressure washed the exterior, replaced the windows, rehabbed the boiler, and replaced the 100-year-old sewer main line.

He also upgraded the landscaping, including planting 1,500 tulips for his late wife. “People would stop their cars and take pictures,” Chris said, noting that the tulips, though dormant now, will be back next season. “It’s going to look incredible in the spring.”

Much of the work was sweat equity undertaken by Chris himself. He estimates he spent 28 hours scraping old layers of paint off the front door to expose the original wood. 

Chris is the latest in a long line of devoted homeowners in historic West Point.

“A lot of people have lived here for multiple decades, so there’s a lot of house pride,” he said.  

To learn more about the home, click here.

Where We Live is a weekly feature looking at homes in the Historic Triangle. Do you have a home, on or off the market, that our readers may be interested in seeing? Let us know at WYD@WYDaily.com.

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