Things are moving really fast at the new store! Here’s what it looked like just two weeks ago:

The roof had to come out first so it didn’t collapse on anyone during demo:

Years of leaking water had rotted out most of the main roof trusses:

The interior almost completely gutted:

Jaime cutting out the last of the old roof:

A piece of wood to hold the whole structure together (joking…kind of):

As more and more of the layers came off we could see how the building was added on to the house. The wood structure was built first and then the brick was added to the outside:

A lot of the walls inside had to break fixed or replaced though due to rot or termite damage:

The structure inside keeps getting a little smaller as we go but at least it will be sturdy and to code:

I left left the guys working at the building at 6:15 last Thursday and at 8:15 I got this photo from Brett showing they’d already finished the roof trusses:

Here’s what the inside looks like now:

So many decisions to make in so little time now! Also, as the layers of the building came off I was able to date the store to October 1940. I went to the genealogical society and went through a few years of newspapers microfiche and was able to find this headline:

When the roof was coming off we found C.R. Browning’s name written on the back of some of the galvanized metal:

I haven’t found any photos of the finished store of house from back then but I’ll keep looking! I do have this one ad from 1971 of Patsy Jacks in front of the jewelry store. At this time it was owned by her parents Hazel and Bud:

I’ve started to index all posts on our big renovation projects into history, found objects, renovation and DIY categories so they are easy to find:

Sixty-One Park Farmhouse Project

One Twenty Main Farmhouse and Store Project

The Old Depot Project

I have a lot to share on the house too but you can also follow along on Instagram as I post almost daily @onetwentymain and @lilblueboo.

Before we get too far into the renovation process I wanted to make sure I got a bunch of photos of the interior of the house. I can’t wait to show you some of what we’ve found during demolition too in a follow up post.

If you missed the previous post here’s a drone video made by Perkins Enterprises (our partner Jaime’s construction company with his brother Erik):

The house had not been lived in for about 25 years and this is exactly what it looked like when we first stepped foot inside:

Here’s the living room to the left of the front door:

There’s a small bathroom that was added probably in the 1950s and that large opening used to be the back of the house:

In the back of this room was a small porch that was enclosed to be a pantry:

To the right of the front door was another small den. The house was being used for some storage by the family but other than that not much had changed. 

What I really think is amazing now looking back at these photos is how many layers of house is underneath that paneling an linoleum:

Looking from the den through the kitchen to the master bedroom:

The kitchen downstairs. We’ve also found evidence of the kitchen being in two other locations over the years:

The kitchen after cleanup:

A small half bath off the kitchen :

The master bedroom:

Directly in front of entry door is a tiny staircase that goes to the upstairs:

There are two bedrooms upstairs. Here is the first one:

Love the vintage stuffed animal:

The second bedroom:

Shoes:

Here’s a quick walk through tour of the house Jaime’s brother Erik made right before demolition. I’m so glad they made this! All the guys are natural comedians…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJX_nPv6G8s

Now that all that’s been shared I can start on the demo posts! 

We’ve already started demo on the interior of the house and store on Main Street and I wanted to share some before photos. First, here is a drone shot from above that gives a good perspective of the property. That is Brett on the roof starting demo:

There’s also this great video made by Perkins Enterprises (our partner Jaime’s construction company with his brother Erik. They have a bunch of great construction videos on their Youtube Channel.): 

The store has been empty for close to 25 years but it was also left as it was. Burton and Hazel Jacks bought the house and store in 1967 and ran H&B Jewelers for almost 25 years. Burton died in 1985 and Hazel in 1996. I’ll write more on the history of the building in a future post.

There were ledger books and receipts still left in the file cabinets dating back to the 1960’s:

Everything left was slowly deteriorating over time from all the water damage:

I love the old windows in the front! They’ll all have to be redone but I really want to keep the same vintage display style:

For quite some time there has been a huge hole in the roof allowing it to rain inside the building:

Here you can see the old door entrance to the house:

Looking closely there were so many cool things left on the shelves….like the H&B Jewelers stamp: 

Cash receipts all handwritten: 

Tie clips still in the boxes on the shelves:

I’m still editing the house photos so stay tuned for that tour!