You might just drive by 510 4th Ave. in Elizabeth Borough without noticing it — unless you know old houses.
Built around 1836 by John and Salome Morrison, the original structure was one room deep and two rooms wide, according to current owner Jason Taylor. He has a complete house history showing that it has stood on the same piece of land for at least 180 years and is nearly as old as the borough, incorporated in 1834. As the property changed owners, the house slowly grew to its current 1,580 square feet of living space.
Mr. Taylor, who bought the property in August 2007, lived in it for a short time and has rented it since. Now he has listed the three-bedroom, one-bath house for sale for $65,000 (MLS No. 1301527) with Jamie L. Rossi of Howard Hanna Real Estate (412-337-8936 or www.howardhanna.com). It is open by appointment.
“It was the one thing that attracted me to this house. It has a lot of character,” he said. “But it has been updated enough that it doesn’t have the challenges of all of the old houses.”
The home sits back from the road in the Tanner Alley section of the Walker’s Extension plan, about five blocks away from the Monongahela River. Elizabeth, which is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Brownsville, has a long boat building history. In the early 1800s, local craftsman John Walker was contracted to build a 55-foot keel boat used for the first stages of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, according to the borough’s website, Elizabethpa.net.
The house appears to have some very old wood siding and window trim. The paint is peeling but Mr. Taylor is planning on having it painted. Old porch posts support the porch roof on the original part of the house.
Inside, walls appear to be made from horsehair plaster. A curved wall leads from the entry to the dining room. Mr. Taylor says that there are remnants of a gold-leaf type wallcovering in some of the rooms.
The 14-by-11-foot living room has rustic wood beams and a simple fireplace with a stone surround and hearth. Though it once burned wood, it now has a gas-burning unit.
“The wood beams in the main part of the home, I believe they are original,” Mr. Taylor said. “The windows are original, too.”
The other room in the original house is the 14-by-11-foot dining room, which has more beams and leaded-glass windows. There is a large niche that probably once housed another fireplace. The wood floors are original, Mr. Taylor said.
The rear kitchen, which was added at a later date, measures 15 by 13 feet and has a red-brick fireplace wall. Several of the appliances belong to the current tenant and will not stay. A door leads to the back porch and yard.
Mr. Taylor’s house history indicates the kitchen was added in the late 1800s by steamboat captain Edgar Robison, who had six children. Capt. Robison piloted the Horner, the Seven Sons and in March 1897, bought the Helen Bridges, an “excursion barge,” according to the Monongahela Valley Republican. He died a year later, on June 9, 1898, according to the same newspaper.
In the 1930s the Natali family took possession of the house and did another interior remodel.
Upstairs, the 14-by-11-foot master is the largest of the three bedrooms. It is carpeted with original flooring underneath. The other two bedrooms have exposed wood floors and measure 14 by 10 feet and 8 by 6 feet. Another room measures 9 by 5 feet and is being marketed as a den. It has a classic split stable door.
Also on the second floor is the only full bathroom, with an old clawfoot tub. There is a “Pittsburgh potty” in the basement.
The home has radiators and a boiler that is less than 5 years old. There is an attic fan and window air-conditioners. The Allegheny County assessed value is $45,300 (www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/realestate/Search.aspx). Over the last seven years, nine properties have sold on 4th Avenue for prices ranging from $4,750 in July 2013 to $100,000 in December 2017 (www.realstats.net).
Rosa Colucci: rcolucci@post-gazette.com; Twitter: PG_RosaColucci.
First Published: July 27, 2018, 12:00 p.m.