When friends of Bill and Alison Mattox purchased the farmhouse at 4221 Barham Road back in 1973, they planned on flipping it.
Even though, as Bill pointed out, “the word flip didn’t exist at the time.”
But Bill and Alison, who had been recruited to help, were so taken by the home, they decided to purchase it themselves.
The home is one of three original houses still standing in Barhamsville, a small agricultural community made up of just a few roads in New Kent County.
“This was the old road, the old highway, from the House of Burgesses through New Kent Courthouse to the State House of Richmond,” Bill said of their street. “There’s a good possibility that the legislators among them would have been George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.”
The house had served originally as a former teacherage for the school that had been located just next door. By 1973, it was still exactly as it would have been when the teachers lived there.
The structure still had 10 chimneys which would have kept the home heated and a 2-holer outhouse, which was somewhat of a luxury for the time period.
“So this was not rough living,” Bill said. “It was fairly comfortable living for the people who were here.”
Even so, the house needed plenty of work to bring it up to modern-day standards, like plumbing and updated electrical. A large storage closet upstairs was converted into a bathroom, and a proper kitchen was added.
Bill and Alison helped their friends with anything they were able to during the initial renovation. And over the last forty-plus years, they’ve taken pride in the home by keeping it well-maintained.
Along the way they’ve upgraded the heating and air conditioning systems, put in a new roof, and added a new front porch. Recently Alison renovated the bathroom and kitchen, and installed copious built-in bookshelves in the living and dining rooms.
The couple’s conscientiousness extends to the guest cottage on the property, which Bill built himself with the help of a friend. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bath rental unit that features a spiral staircase and a skylight, so you can look up at the stars at night.
Bill and Alison have years of happy memories in the home, including watching Allison’s niece get married downstairs.
“We wanted to maintain the original ambiance,” Bill said of the ongoing improvements to the home. “We’ve just loved it here.”
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.
