On Saturday, May 8, 2021, the Waller Sharp House in Sharpsburg, Kentucky, will go on the auction block. The once-elegant 2.5 story brick house, built 1903-1905 for the Honorable Waller Sharp Sr., has suffered the indignities of neglect over the past few decades. Pigeons, water, and decay may have waged an insidious campaign against the house, but its solid masonry walls and stone foundation were built at a time when longevity mattered. The Sharp House is ready for a rebirth, if the right person can see the beauty and possibilities in this amazing house!
I wrote a piece about this house last week, and just received some interior photos from Kimberly King, who interviewed the last owner of the house, Mrs. Nell Martin, in 2017.* The photographs are from that year, and show some of the intact details of the house.
The façade of the Waller Sharp House, April 2020.
Although the photographs show the impact of delayed maintenance, it makes me hopeful to note all of the interior fabric that is still intact. Lovely turn-of-the- century woodwork, tiles, and stained glass are all still in good (or at least stable) condition.
I’m not sure how the heating has ben updated, but the fireplaces, which seem to all be intact, are coal burning.
And once again, I have not been inside the house, but am merely posting the photographs that were graciously shared with me.
Another hearth.
The plaster needs a good deal of attention, but the woodwork and trim appears to all be in place. Removing plaster is messy work, but once a new roof is on the house and things can start to dry out – cleaning up and out can commence. I’m not a purist when it comes to retaining plaster (especially water soaked plaster) – drywall works just fine. The important thing is to save the house.
The rooms are spacious and well-lit.
I imagine the house has a “double lobby” entry – with the front doors opening into a front hall that provides access to the rooms on either side, and at the rear of the entry lobby, a stair hall. A colonnade separates the front of the central hall from the rear (see image below).
One view toward the stair hall, which I imagine is to the rear of the house.
Another view of the staircase – which miraculously hasn’t been painted!
The numerous examples of stained glass are wonderful.
I love this window.
Another stained glass window.
Like most houses its age, the Waller Sharp House has hardwood floors (probably a mix of oak and pine) and five to six panel doors. It also looks like it has a butler’s pantry, and French doors.
Possible butler’s pantry?
French doors on the interior.
The dormers (there are at least three attic dormers) provide light to what appears to be a full-size attic – and one that is divided into rooms. That makes sense, as the census recorded domestic servants living with the Sharp family in the early 20th century. The attic space would have been bedrooms for that staff.
This appears to be the attic level of the house. The windows are one of the attic dormers on either the west or east side of the house.
Although it was hard to get an idea of how the second story space is arranged, I imagine it has a central hall that runs the length of the house (north to south).
This is the central window on the second story façade. It is a perfect space for bookshelves and a cozy reading nook!
The absolute auction for this house will be at 10:30 am (EST) on Saturday, May 8, 2021. The original post on the house, available at this link http://www.gardenstogables.com/historic-houses-for-sale-the-waller-sharp-house-sharpsburg-bath-county-kentucky/ has the background information I was able to gather about the dwelling and its history. If you are interested in this amazing house (one of the finest in the community of Sharpsburg), please contact Lisa Rogers with Lisa Rogers Realty at 606-674-2599.
*Follow the link to the April 28, 2021 post on the Waller Sharp House for more exterior photographs and history.
While this house was being built, Waller Sharp & family lived in the house in the Thomas Fletcher mansion in Bald Eagle. After they moved into this one, the tore the Fletcher mansion down. That place, built in the years following the Revolutionary War, was something else & I would love to see pictures if anybody has any. Fletcher was Bath County’s 1st county clerk, a Revolutionary War Vet, & a 1st cousin of Vice President John C. Calhoun who visited him in his Bald Eagle house as did LaFayette. The story of that house & it’s illustrious owner can be found in the Fletcher notebook in the Bath Co. library’s genealogy room. Fascinating stuff.
Great potential but lotta work. Hope water damage hasn’t gotten too much worse. All the clutter make it look worse than it is. Hope somebody buys it
Those books! Please tell me they won’t go in the trash! I hope a local library gets them, or even a collector. Just don’t let them go to waste!