Steve Nicklin moved to Washington in 1984 for a job but his love of historical renovation led him south, to Bowling Green, Va., and a restoration that would take six years.
The Bowling Green estate was patented by Major John Thomas Hoomes in 1667. The current farm was built in 1741 by George Hoomes and was a stopover for the stage line, also operated by the family, between Fredericksburg and Richmond.
| Details: |
| » Address: 200 South Main St., Bowling Green, VA 22427 |
| » Size: 5 bedrooms, 4 baths; 126-acre site |
| » List price: $1,945,000 |
| » Auction: May 3, conducted by Concierge Auctions: 888.966.4759, www.ConciergeAuctions.com |
| » Agent: Frank Hardy 866-605-7280 |
| » Website: bowlinggreenauction.com |
Listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places the home has hosted historic figures, such as George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Run for a time as a tobacco farm, it later became well known as a horse breeding and racing facility.
The house is built in two sections. A 2,100-square-foot brick main section dates to the 1740s and is characteristic of pre-Georgian Tidewater construction. It has a clipped gable roof, five dormers, symmetrical fa?ade, front porch under overhanging eaves and two gable-end chimneys. A two-story clapboard section with gambrel roof was added to the back of the house in 1791. Sited on 126 acres just 20 miles south of Fredericksburg, the house and farm are scheduled for sale by auction on May 3.
“When I was a kid, my relatives used to drag me around on antique buying expeditions and I developed an appreciation for older things and the history surrounding them,” Nicklin said.
No novice to historical restoration, Nicklin had rehabbed a late 18th century colonial farmhouse in Loudoun County before buying Bowling Green, which attracted him because of its pedigree and abundance of open space.
“But the huge draw for me was, from an architectural standpoint, the house was completely intact,” said Nicklin, noting that doors, hardware and even the heart of pine floors were original, as were some of the period furnishings that came with the house.
“Until 1999, the house had been owned by various descendants and branches of the same family that built the house, so essentially, I’m only the second family owner,” Nicklin said.
The property, protected by an historic easement put into place in 1969, had not suffered ill-advised updates and insensitive renovations — so the work required to bring it back to life was readily apparent.
“The roof was in terrible condition, there was some water damage and all the major systems, electrical, heating and plumbing, needed to be replaced,” Nicklin said. “The walls were covered in soot and plaster was falling off in places.”
He tackled the project with gusto, acting as his own general contractor. He tapped the expertise of Ed Chappell, director of Architectural and Archaeological Research at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, along with staff from Virginia’s Department of Historical Resources. While the experts were busy uncovering historic details about Bowling Green, Nicklin was uncovering some history of his own. He discovered that his own 17th century English ancestors had settled less than 30 minutes away from Bowling Green, in present day Richmond County.
“Steve has done extraordinarily conscientious work on the house, in the 99th percentile,” Chappell said. “He’s respected all the early periods, getting the house into solid condition without losing any of the character that’s developed over several centuries.”
Nicklin’s renovation efforts also were guided by historic documents that came with the farm, including ledgers that described crops, livestock and outbuildings. He inherited an early 20th century photo album of the farm and used Historic American Buildings Survey drawings and photos, which proved instrumental in both the exterior and interior restoration.
The house, with five bedrooms and four baths, now boasts a totally restored infrastructure and pristine period details but modern conveniences were not overlooked.
“Probably my favorite project was the glass and tile shower we added inside one of the dormers upstairs, a claw-foot tub had to be removed to accommodate it,” Nicklin said. “Anyone using the shower is able to look out the dormer window.”
In the kitchen, Nicklin artfully blended stainless steel appliances with an antique pine sideboard and a pine dry sink. Side chairs, used every day, date to around 1800 and were original to the house.
Nicklin is philosophical about his relatively short tenure at Bowling Green. “The restoration process was challenging but maintaining a property of this size is just as challenging,” he said. “Life is made up of many chapters and Bowling Green Farm is a fantastic chapter in my life.”
