The Ligonier Valley is filled with historic properties. The area was settled in the early 1700s by Native Americans and the first traders came in 1732. The French and Indian War followed and by 1758 the area around Fort Ligonier was a combat zone.
Americans declared their independence in 1776 and to the victors go the spoils. On Feb. 21, 1786, this plot of land in Westmoreland County was surveyed by one John Henry, who received its deed about a month later. Mr. Henry spent the next three years building a home that is known as the Warden House, after recent owners Julia and Eugene Warden. It’s at the intersection of Route 130 and Route 711 in Stahlstown and carries a historic marker.
Today, the house at 4127 State Route 130 is owned by Christine DeFatta, who purchased it in April 2016. She originally wanted another house featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one nearby made famous by Kate Soffel, the prison warden’s wife who helped the Biddle brothers escape in the early 1900s.
“It is really funny. I saw the article in the newspaper and I tried to purchase that home but it was sold. I kept looking and found this on Zillow. After I bought it, I found all of the history attached to it,” she said.
“There is a book that is thicker than a Bible that shows all of the history of the house back to the original owners. Several historians in the area all wrote different portions of the history of the home.”
Now Ms. DeFatta has put the property on the market for $224,900 (MLS No.1429128) with Lorraine DiCecco of Loyalhanna Realty (www.loyalhanna.com or 724-953-2356). The home is being sold completely furnished and is open by appointment in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.
The original structure had one large room with a garret above. Historic research prepared by M.N. Hinebaugh in 1999 says that the space was originally accessed by a ladder. A huge fireplace in the main room measures 7 feet wide and 5 feet high. The original chestnut mantel is still in place and the room is beautifully intact. Random-width oak flooring measures almost 18 inches wide in some places.
Ms. DeFatta found more history when she asked an exterminator to check the attic after hearing rustling there. “He went behind a wall and found lot of railroad paperwork, old letters with stamps from the 1800s and other historic documents. I gave them all to the historic society.”
The 14-by-13-foot kitchen was restored by Ms. DeFatta. She had a carpenter build period cabinets and kept what was original and usable. A large addition was made in the 1820s, she said.
“They added a living room, dining room and three bedrooms upstairs. The walls are 30 inches thick between the original house and the addition.”
In the 13-by-13-foot dining room, the original stone mantel and walls remain. Ms. DeFatta brought in a chimney sweep to clean the chimney and add a gas insert. The walls are paneled with cherry wood boards with a small beadboard detail.
The 21-by-13-foot living room has another large fireplace against the stone wall with a built-in bookcase that was added to hide flues from the original chimneys. The entry includes the original staircase with original spindles and newel posts. There is a first-floor powder room and laundry room.
Other structural features include exposed beams and joists made from American chestnut trees. Chestnut was also used for flooring on the second floor. Floors on the main level are 1¾-inch thick oak in random widths. The house also has some original horsehair plaster. While the Wardens owned the house, several walls of plaster were removed because they had deteriorated. The stone walls were repointed and left exposed.
Three bedrooms upstairs range in size from 12 by 9 feet to 13 by 12 feet. The walls in all three bedrooms are original wood.
The house has a metal roof, electric heat, central air-conditioning and a septic tank. The half-acre property has an attached vacant lot.
Ms. DeFatta built a rear deck to take advantage of the spectacular views and to hear the church bells that ring daily at noon.
“They are so calming,” she said.
The new owner will enjoy learning about the families that lived in this house and the history of the area, Ms. DeFatta said.
“I would tell anyone buying this home to make sure you love historic homes. You have to respect and take care of it for the next person. We are just caretakers of history here.”
Rosa Colucci: rcolucci@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 22, 2020, 12:00 p.m.