The story below is from our March/April 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
A contractor specializing in historic restoration and preservation showcases outstanding original farmhouse elements with plush modern upgrades.
Taylor Reschka
Thanks to Building Specialists, Inc., Deer Park Farm in New Castle is a cozy rural retreat that perfectly blends original history with contemporary luxury.
Don and Rhonda McNiel know that destiny may occasionally be delayed, but not eluded. They have been married since 1986 but just recently completed restoring an old farmhouse that’s been in Don’s family for over 200 years. Their marriage and the restoration of this farmhouse, Deer Park Farm in New Castle, have brought many elements of both their lives full circle.
Don’s great-great grandfather, William Reynolds, once grew wheat, corn and alfalfa on the property when it was a 350-acre self-sustaining farm. He raised cows, chickens, guinea hens and pigs and left milk out for sale each morning. The property also had a granary (storeroom for threshed grain) and a corn crib (a granary for drying and storing corn).
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Taylor Reschka
The cabinetry work is thanks to Rutrough Cabinets in Rocky Mount.
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Taylor Reschka
The accent wall features the repurposed, original siding, completed entirely in-house by Building Specialists, Inc.
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Taylor Reschka
When no other table felt quite right, Hollub Homes found this custom live-edge table from Michigan.
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Taylor Reschka
A trundle couch in the parlor opens up to a king-sized bed.
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Taylor Reschka
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Taylor Reschka
Inside, the original bathroom became the first in Craig County with indoor plumbing in the late 1800s. In the 1950s, when Don and his cousins were growing up, they affectionately dubbed rooms the “music room,” “blue room,” and “black and white room,” respectively. Don’s Aunt Marie was a music teacher and taught him and his cousins to play bluegrass, jazz and classical music in the music room.
What remains today is five acres, a gentleman’s estate. While much smaller in size than the original 350 acres, the family history of the home and many of its features remain intact.
And Don and Rhonda are clearly meant to be there, as their lives today link back to its history in unique ways. For example, Don worked delivering The Roanoke Times newspaper when he was a kid. When tearing out walls during restoration, Don found a 1939 copy of that same newspaper tucked away between the beams.
Taylor Reschka
History has also repeated itself in an unusual way with women influencing the ownership of the property. When Don’s grandparents were married in 1911, women couldn’t legally own land. But his grandmother’s dowry was sufficient to purchase the land by buying the house out from the brothers of Don’s great grandfather.
Don’s Aunt Marie was the most recent owner of the home. She passed away in 2016, and the estate put the house up for sale. When someone offered a price far below the asking price, Rhonda was determined to hold on to the house and told Don, “I’m going to buy this house myself!” She notes, “A woman was responsible for keeping the house in the family twice so far in its history.”
Rhonda was keen to purchase the home because its deep history appealed to her as a contrast to her own family background. Rhonda’s great grandfather was a British citizen forced to leave England because he was young, poor and Jewish. Her family was confined in a ghetto in Poland in the early 1900s.
Rhonda’s great grandfather escaped the ghetto and immigrated to the United States, but returned to Poland every year to bring more of his family to the US. While her family escaped the ghetto, repeatedly leaving their home and culture behind to start anew took its toll.
The deep history of this farmhouse rooted in one location is a redemptive counterpoint to the fractured geography of Rhonda’s family. Don’s family has not just lived there for over 200 years; they were involved even before construction began. Prior to constructing the home, Reynolds cleared the land, cut logs and milled them. Local ferrières, now typically referred to as blacksmiths, forged square nails, and Reynolds made his own bricks.
Because of the age of the home, it has some unique characteristics specific to the time period in which it was built. Rhonda and Don selected Building Specialists, Inc. of Roanoke as their general contractor because of the company’s strong history in historic restoration and renovation.
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Taylor Reschka
The master bath features the original, claw foot tub.
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Floor and backsplash tile is from Jay McCray of Daltile in Roanoke.
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Taylor Reschka
Hollub Homes curated all furniture and fixtures.
Rhonda and Don worked with Building Specialists to preserve original elements whenever possible. The restoration didn’t change any of the flooring, chimney, walls, doors or windows.
While the oak floors had a few hundred years’ worth of wear and tear on them, Building Specialists buffed the floors and applied a coat of clear varnish so that they gleam like the floors of new construction.
Taylor Reschka
All bedrooms have an en suite bathroom.
An addition that was built around 1820 had to be demolished due to an unsound foundation. Yet that piece of history was not lost either. Many elements of that structure were incorporated into the new home.
Among these elements are the chimney, original siding and dormer windows. When the chimney was dismantled, the original bricks were salvaged and repurposed into the home. Before the demolition, Building Specialists saved the original siding and incorporated it into the living room accent wall. Building Specialists also salvaged the dormer windows from the demolished portion of the home and added extra windows to bedrooms to brighten them up with more natural light. Finally, they salvaged the home’s original shutters, noting that they’re sturdier than what you buy at the store today.
Even the original cast iron, claw foot tub from circa 1895 was preserved. One member of the construction crew, Mark Miller, is the owner of Miller’s Bath Tub Refinishing & Repair in Rocky Mount. When renovating the bathroom, Mark pulled out the tub, coated the interior with porcelain and refurbished and painted the exterior.
The restoration of the home has proved that the adage is true: love is in the details. Building Specialists has ensured quality craftsmanship through every phase of the restoration. Rhonda consulted with a personal friend, Helene Hollub, who does design work for Hollub Homes, for feedback. Her friend approved each step of the renovation, reassuring her, “Rhonda, I love you like a sister. They’re doing a great job. I would never let you live in an ugly house!”
Taylor Reschka
The fire pit is perfect for roasting marshmallows on a chilly fall night.
Rhonda tied design elements together with Helene’s help and by relying on the modern woman’s other design assistant: Pinterest. She matched the tile pattern to the refinished tub in one bathroom, chose glossy quartz countertops for all the bathrooms and kitchen, purchased a custom live edge table for the dining room and placed 10 televisions throughout the home for entertaining.
Each bedroom has its own en suite bathroom. While technically not ADA compliant due to a slight rise around the shower door, the downstairs bath is accessible by wheelchair. There are enough beds and pullout couches to comfortably sleep ten people. Visitors can enjoy looking out through original seeded glass windows over the hills as the fog rolls out in the morning. The glass has waves and bubbles from being hand-blown, adding a nostalgic element to the pastoral countryside.
Rhonda enjoys her morning coffee on the front porch. In the evenings, she passes through the French doors that Don and Rhonda chose for a “nice, timeless look” to the back porch. There she savors her evening glass of wine while looking out at the fire pit.
In addition to enjoying the home that holds many of Don’s childhood memories, Don hopes to bring tourism to Craig County by using the home as a rental unit for alumni from the various local colleges. With the nearest neighbor being a quarter-mile away, visitors can rest and recharge in peace and privacy. The property also has an EV charger.
Anyone interested in lodging with deep historical roots and comfortable modern amenities can check out DeerParkFarmNCV.com for more details.
The story above is from our March/April 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!