Like most things in our lives, it kind of started with pizza.
We are a single income family. I love being a full time Mom, wife, and feed lady to our numerous animals. However, we’d also like to take a family vacation someday. We’d also like to spend more time together, but with a sole income, young kids, and animals to support, overtime is a bitter necessity in this economy.
As the children of business owners, the phrase, “I just want to start a business together” has been spoken almost daily for years. We’ve had plenty of ideas and have tried plenty of things. But, our requirements have been strict. We’d need something that didn’t consume all of my husband’s spare time and as well as something that allowed me to be available to my children and husband and aging animals at all hours and on all days. Also, something that we could start with few up-front costs and something that we could gradually grow. Naturally, most ideas failed to check all three of these boxes.
It’s been quite a while since my husband and I began toying with the idea of a vacation rental. In our spare time, we casually perused properties online. None of them felt “right”. Certainly, none of them we could afford.
“Did you order pizza, yet?” my husband asked me. We were sitting on the couch on a casual Sunday afternoon, waiting for our youngest to wake up from her nap.
I was scrolling through property listings with absolutely no intention of actually finding something. But in that very moment, there was a scroll stop. “No but look at this place. Is this too much of a project?”
He immediately knew exactly where it was at. He glanced over the pictures and said, “Hm,” handing the phone back to me. Well, that was better than other reactions. So, I said, “I think I’m going to contact them about it.” “Well, you can see what they say,” he replied. I did eventually order the pizza, and the little dilapidated house was all I could talk about.
It was the perfect size, the perfect layout, in the perfect location.
From here, I felt like we could really make the home an experience for tourists, help out our small community, and tell the story of Bakerton. A perfect trifecta for a busy Mom and wife whose a bit of a closet history nerd on the side.
Today, we closed on our little dilapidated house on the outskirts of Harpers Ferry, in the unincorporated community of Bakerton. A 1900’s house once tenanted by distant family members.
To most people, Bakerton is just a little unincorporated area. A little black dot on a map which must be passed through to get from point A to point B.
But to me? Bakerton holds seven generations of memories.
Seven generations of presence in Bakerton. Six generations of property owners in Bakerton.
There’s truly something about the little community that is simply, “home”. As Dad always said, perhaps we’re simply “Bakertonians” with veins of limestone.
Unfortunately, the stone foundation of our new old home is likely not cost-effective to fix. Our plan is to tear it down and reconstruct it, nail by nail and board by board — much like my great-grandfather and the Oak Grove Schoolhouse. Perhaps the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
Once we gather those apples, we plan to restore the exterior and interior of the house and grounds to its period glory, serving as a testament to the historic community and its contributions to history.
Somewhat of a "livable" museum, we look forward to being able to bring a bit of Bakerton's glory days back home. We've decided to name the property "Quarryman's Rest" as a tribute to its roots.
Bakerton’s history is often overlooked, being overshadowed by the fame of Harpers Ferry. But the history of our little community is just as rich, storied, and crucial to the development of our Nation. And we can’t wait to share it with the world.
Thank you, to the sweet prior owners, for affording us this opportunity.
P.S. As we start this reconstruction process, we'd be honored for you to follow along right here with us. It'll be quite the adventure!
Talk soon,
Kaila
