THE LUTHER HENRY CALDWELL HOUSE
In 1978 I had the pleasure to visit the Caldwell House with my father. Being an architect, he loved old houses, and the classic design styles were always his favorites. He was helping in some capacity in the effort to have this beautiful home added to the National Register of Historic Places. I have been enthralled with this landmark home ever since. I used to ride my bicycle past it and wonder what secrets it held inside. When Linda and I lived on 17th street, just a few blocks away, we would walk by and admire its beauty from the outside. Once, when there was an estate sale at the home, we jumped at the chance just to walk through it. Never did I dream that I would one day be invited to stay there for several days, but that is exactly what happened. (Turn your sound up if you want to hear the videos)
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| Historic and gorgeous home |
Construction on this historic home was completed in 1903, and it was occupied by Caldwell family members until the death of daughter Christine Caldwell Thompson in 2009 (link). For many years the house had been falling into disrepair. It had been up for sale for a few years when, in 2012, our good friends Brad and Andrew purchased it. At that time it was definitely a fixer-upper, on a huge scale! Brad is a native of Lumberton and has always been concerned about the preservation of our historic buildings. Since he was 11 years old, he had dreamed about owning this very house. He had no idea back then that his dream would one day come true. Since purchasing the home, Brad & Andrew have managed to bring it back to its former glory. To look at the pictures you would think it was a bed and breakfast inn! But it is a private residence and not open to the public.
The house features a fireplace in every main room, a total of seven, which was common back in the days when there was no central heating system. The tile work around the fireplaces is absolutely gorgeous. I can't find enough adjectives to describe the beauty this house has to offer. Here are a few pictures to show you what I mean. The close up picture of the fireplace below is the one I am standing beside in the first picture. That was the bedroom we stayed in.
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One could just wander around this house for days and still see something new each time. Brad is very much a collector of old things, and he has many pieces on display from the same era as when this house was in its infancy. Below is a tour I took through the house with my video camera.
Mr. Cardinal decided to act as tour guide, at one point.
Linda found something to play with, and revealed a hidden talent for music. Well, sort of. You be the judge.
Just as you enter the front door of the Caldwell House, you see this huge poster of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney atop the staircase to the second floor. Brad is a big fan of Judy Garland. He has more memorabilia of her on display, see if you can spot any of it in the pictures and video.
Continuing on up the staircase, you come to this sweet little sitting area. To the left of the couch is a door leading out to the second floor veranda.
The upstairs veranda is one of my favorite spots in the house. Linda and I sat up there and had our gin and tonic drinkiepoo one evening. Even though the temperature was pretty hot that day, we had a nice breeze blowing through.
I was so busy taking pictures of the house that I didn't get very many pictures of us. But you already know what we look like. A dear friend did take this picture below of us with our gracious hosts.
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| Andrew, Linda, me, Brad |
This was one of the most difficult blogs for me to put together due to the sheer number of pictures and video that I had. And I only used about half of it. I hope I have done justice to the true beauty of this home. Next week in the blog we will wrap up our stay in Lumberton and head home.
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