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A Brief History
Specifications
Room by Room Descriptions
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Cellars
External Highlights
Recent Photo
120 Aaron Square
A Brief History
In
1786, in what was then Northumberland County, and three years before George
Washington would begin to serve his first term as President, Aaron Levy
founded the town of "Aaronsburgh". In 1789, as the foundation of
the United States was just being laid, Frederick
Hennigh was already capping his foundation with a large datestone
in the western gable of his home, which reads: F 1789 H. Aaronsburg
was the first town founded in what is now Centre County, and Linn's History
of Centre County records the 1789 House as "the first house of any consequence
built in the town". While Aaron Levy's meticulous plans for the town
have not been fully realized, the 1789 House stands now in the heart of
Aaronsburg's Historic District. The unique stone, square log and
primitive brick house stands also as an icon of the colonization and development
of central Pennsylvania.
Frederick Hennigh
was a Revolutionary War soldier who purchased the land on which the 1789
House is now located with money given to him by his father, Christofel
Hennigh. The house, as Frederick built it, consisted of three components:
a three-story stone section; a three-story square log section; and a one-story
frame section (including two attached outhouses). It is not known
which of these three sections was built first, but since the frame section
contains a summer kitchen (and Dutch oven), and because that section is
built on the same level as the log section, one might conclude that they
were erected first to serve as living quarters while the main stone section
was being constructed. Sometime in the 19th Century, two additional
significant components were added: a brick section, and another frame section.
In its 210 year history, the 1789 House has been sold only four times.
Specifications
1789 House
- Total square footage: 5,172 (excluding attic and cellars)
- Sixteen Rooms
- Five Bedrooms
- Three full bathrooms and two half baths
- Five fireplaces, including one with a "Dutch Oven"
- Full attics in the stone, log and brick sections
- Three cellars, including one with a curved stone staircase
- Four stairways to the second floor
- 67 doors
- 57 windows
- Storm windows throughout (except for summer kitchen)
- Original pine flooring and woodwork
- "Rosewood" balustrade in the main hall extending to the third floor
- Electric heat in 6 rooms and two full bathrooms and two half baths
- Oil-fired hot water heat in eight rooms and one bathroom (divided into three thermostatically controlled zones)
- Copper plumbing throughout, installed 1955-1997
- Re-wired 1955-1997
Property
Lot No. 1: 60' x 200' located at the intersection of Aaron Square and Spruce Alley and containing the 1789 House, a recently constructed privacy fence and an illuminated parking area.Lot No. 2: 31' x 60' located at the intersection of Spruce Alley and Strawberry Alley. Originally a barn stood on this property, but it has most recently been used for vegetable gardening.
Room by Room Descriptions
and Special Features
First Floor
Main Entry Hall
Massive front door with
antique, cast iron lock with milk glass knob (black cast iron locks and
white milk glass knobs are common throughout the house), two doorways to
the Main Living Room to the left, a doorway to the Downstairs Bath/Powder
Room, a door to the Greenhouse Cellar and a doorway to the Little Living
Room to the right.
Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork
• Antique, Sandwich Glass, "pull down" overhead oil lamp fixture (electrified). This lamp was first placed in the Main Entry Hall more than 100 years ago.
• Original pine staircase to second and third floors with turned balusters and "rosewood" handrail. Half-round facia panels on staircase similar to woodwork subtending windows in Office.
• Single pattern, "colonial" wallpaper from first floor to attic door
• Eight pane, recessed light over entry door
Main Living Room
A large room (510 sq.
ft.) with four windows containing some original glass, each with a wide
window well (through the stone wall), two doorways to the Main Entry Hall
and one to the "split-level" Library.
Special Features:
• Original pine woodwork with capped baseboard and "square plaque" window and door frames
• Large, uniquely designed stone fireplace and hearth with pine mantel and paneled superstructure
• Specially designed, banistered staircase through stone wall to Library
Library
A room with an unusual history in that it was known locally as "the Red Cross Room" reflecting the fact that it was used by the local ladies to roll bandages for the overseas soldiers during World War I. It contains four windows and four doors: one door to the Main Living Room, one to the Office, a blind door to the Utility Room and an exterior door opening onto Spruce Alley.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork, with all doors being paneled as is true throughout most of the house
• Built-in bookshelves and base cabinets on two walls with upper shelves illuminated for display use
• Three bulb, hanging, billiard table light fixture
• Wooden "Williamsburg" venetian blinds on all windows
Office
A small room with six
doorways, two windows and a built-in and enclosed set of bookshelves.
This room provides egress to a porch which overlooks the back yard, and
on the opposite side of the room, another door exits on the Spruce Alley
side of the house. Other doors provide access to the Summer Kitchen,
a stairway to the second floor Apartment Cluster, a doorway to the Furnace
Cellar as well as the entry door to the Library.
Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork, with all doors paneled
• Unusual double rounded face panel subtending window sills
• Pull-down ceiling light fixture
• Telephone jack
• Buzzer system that permits communication throughout the home
Summer Kitchen
Time stands still in
this true remnant of the colonial era, with wide ceiling and floor boards,
exterior doors to Spruce Alley and to a small porch overlooking the back
yard. A third doorway provides access to the large Storage Room,
and the fourth door involves a step down into the Office.
Special Features:
• "Walk-in" brick fireplace with heavy log mantel and a Bee-hive "Dutch" baking oven (photo above)
• Two primitive pine doors with some original hand forged hardware
• Large pantry adjacent to the fireplace
Storage Room
Also called "The Woodshed", this is a large room with double doors to Spruce Alley and an exterior door to the back yard and attached "outhouses", with a small window above.Special Features:
• Large wood bin
• Gravel floor
Downstairs Bath / Powder Room
An unusual, full bathroom with step-down doorway to Main Entry Hall.Special Features:
• Thirteen foot high sloping ceiling with inset "dimmer" light
• Random width pine flooring
• West wall formed by the external German siding of the "log house" and the shuttered Library window
• Antique, pedestaled lavatory attended by antique, milk glass soap dish and glass holder
• Antique mirror with adjacent, antique hooded light fixtures
• Corner shower with "foot-bath" faucet
"Little" Living Room
To the right of the Main Entry Hall. This room is "little" only when compared to the Main Living Room. Doorways to the Dining room and Main Entry Hall, two windows looking out toward Aaron Square and another overlooking the small Courtyard.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring, re-laid on tongue and groove pine for additional insulation
• Custom made carpeting contoured to the room's unusual shape
• Crown molding around the room's perimeter • Manteled, brick fireplace with brick hearth and built-in "Heat-a-Lator"
• Large, three panel, 90-paned Bay Window with base cabinets
• Cable television connection
• "Boston Whaler" style hanging fixture
Dining Room
A half-step down from the Main Kitchen with a shuttered window to the Utility Room and a transom above the door to the Courtyard Porch, with doorways to the Little Living Room, a multi-purpose closet, a stairway to the Brick House Upper Hall and a half-glazed door to the Courtyard Porch.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring, re-laid on tongue and groove pine for additional insulation
• A walk-in closet with custom designed cabinets and drawers
• Crown molding around the room's perimeter
• Chair rail
• A five-arm, candle style hanging fixture with center floodlight
Main Kitchen
Three windows with one
window air conditioner, plus doorways to: the Utility Room, the Dining
Room, the Porch and Courtyard, the stairway to the Food Cellar and the
stairway to the second floor Rear Bedroom. Doors to the Utility Room
and Courtyard Porch have glazed upper halves.
Special Features:
• A tiled, island counter with lighting and cabinets above and drawers and cabinets below. Includes microwave and built-in dishwasher
• A manteled, brick fireplace with brick hearth and cast-iron grate, illuminated by accent ceiling light
• A three-shelf pantry closet
• An antique double font "railroad" electrified chandelier
• A 30-inch electric stove with overhead canopy
• A Kenmore 15 cubic foot, frost-free refrigerator
• Wall mouted telephone/answering machine
• Buzzer system that permits communication throughout the home
• Cable television connection
Utility Room
A room recently formed (c. 1930's?) by enclosing the area between the Main Kitchen and the Library containing seven windows and an exit door to the back yard, and doors to the Furnace Cellar and the Main Kitchen.Special Features:
• Unused chimney capable of supplying built-in fireplace, or a wood or gas stove
• Kenmore washing machine
• Kenmore clothes dryer (1998)
• Laundry tub
• Half bath
Second Floor
Second Floor Main Hall
Staircase from the first floor Main Entry Hall continues from Second Floor Main Hall to third floor Attic. Doorways provide access to Stone House Front Bedroom, Stone House Rear Bedroom, Small Upper Hall and Sewing Room.Special Features:
• Original wide pine flooring
• Antique hanging oil lamp with milk glass font and shade
• Telephone jack
• Buzzer system that permits communication throughout the home
Hall Sewing Room
A small room with folding doors closing it off from the Second Floor Main Hall and containing a window overlooking Aaron Square.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork
Stone House Front Bedroom
A large room with three windows and paneled doors to clothes closet and Second Floor Main Hall.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork
• Crystal prism chandelier
• Original "primitive style" shallow closet
• Removable window air conditioner
Stone House Rear Bedroom
A rectangular room with one window and paneled doors to clothes closet and Second Floor Main Hall. A "split-level" staircase leads to the Apartment Cluster.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring with "original" perimeter paint typical of the last century
• Original "primitive style" shallow closet
Apartment Cluster -- Studio
A large room with five windows (two overlooking the back yard) and doorways to the Bathroom, Mini Hall and Stone House Rear Bedroom.Special Features:
• Original pine flooring and woodwork, with unusual double rounded face panels subtending window sills
• Five arm, capped chimney style chandelier
• Double-door shelved closet
• Double-door clothes closet
• Cable television connection
• Buzzer that permits communication throughout the home
• Emergency buzzer to Brick House second floor
Apartment Cluster -- Bathroom
A full bathroom with window overlooking the back yard.Special Features:
• Illuminated medicine cabinet
• Floor-to-ceiling cabinet at head of tub
• Large storage cabinet at foot of tub
Apartment Cluster -- Mini Hall
A small landing connecting the Apartment Kitchen and Apartment Studio with a stairway down to the first floor Office, with exits to Spruce Alley and to the porch overlooking the back yard.Special Features:
• Wall lights at top and bottom of stairway
• Folding stairway door
Apartment Cluster -- Kitchen
A small room with two windows, each equipped with louvered mini-shutters. This fully operational kitchen in the Apartment Cluster provides a truly independent living area, well away from the central areas of the home.Special Features:
• Kitchen counter with sink and overhead cabinets
• Electric stove and refrigerator
• Narrow, paneled door enclosing a closet/pantry
• Recessed ceiling light
Brick House Upper Hall
A small hallway connecting the second floor of the Brick House with the Second Floor Main Hall of the Stone House, and providing a landing for the stairway from the Dining Room and doorways to Main Bathroom and the Master Bedroom.Special Features:
• Antique "Sweetheart" oil lamp hanging fixture (electrified)
• Heavy paneled door separating the Stone House from the Brick House
Master Bedroom
An "L" shaped room with three windows, two of which overlook Aaron Square, while the other provides a view of the small Courtyard.Special Features:
• Manteled fireplace with brick hearth and cast iron grate
• One wall of cedar-lined clothes closets and cabinets • Half bath with Pennsylvania Dutch style medicine cabinet and variable intensity lighting
• Sconce mounted, candle lights on outside of bathroom door
• "Built-in" air conditioner
• Cable television connection; 220 volt outlet
Main Bathroom
A large bathroom with two windows, and doorways to the Rear Bedroom and to the Brick House Upper Hall.Special Features:
• Two three-lamp hanging fixtures, separately controlled
• Tub with "sit-down" feature
• Floor-to-ceiling cabinets at head of tub
• Mirrored medicine cabinet illuminated with fixtures matching ceiling lights
• Open, columnar partition with magazine rack shielding commode
• Two part "Dutch" door enclosing large linen and storage closet
Rear Bedroom
An unusual room with sloping pine board ceiling, random width pine flooring and three windows, it is sometimes referred to as the "Maid's Room" because of its exclusive access to the Main Kitchen by way of a stairway at the rear of the room. Another door leads to the Main Bathroom.Special Features:
• Large clothes closet with pine walls, floor and ceiling, and recessed ceiling light
• Four extra large drawers with enclosed cabinet above stairway to Main Kitchen
• Illuminated stairway to Main Kitchen with controls above and below
• 1960's inverted flower hanging fixture
Third Floor
Attic
A "three-room" attic
sits atop the main staircase origination in the Main Entry Hall on the
first floor. Not included in the total square footage of the house
are the 1,857 square feet of the Attic.
Special Features:
• Original hand-hewn beams, some 8" x 14"; horizontal beams still perfectly level (photo above)
• One room with an area of 750 sq. ft. with four windows and original wide pine "pegged" flooring with some pegs still in place
• One room with an area of 595 sq. ft. with two windows and crude ladder thought to be original to the home
• One room with an area of 512 sq. ft. with cable television entrance and amplifier, and with one window housing a large exhaust fan.
• Six inches of fiberglass insulation under flooring throughout the entire Attic
Cellars
Food Cellar
A small cellar located beneath the Main Kitchen which may have been used for food storage in the past, but has not been used for the past 50 years. Cellars are not included in the total square footage of the home.Furnace Cellar
A small cellar beneath the Office and Library with access from the Utility Room and the back yard. The cellar can also be accessed from the Office, but the stairs no longer exist.Special Features:
• New, oil-fired hot water furnace with zonal control by valves and three thermostats
• Two 250 gallon fuel tanks
• Two work benches, and one metal storage rack
Greenhouse Cellar
A larger cellar with access from the Main Entry Hall originally used for food storage, and as a source of water by means of a spring which flowed into a small cavity quarried out of the bedrock.Special Features:
• Unique, curved stone staircase
• Stone corner storage cabinet built into the original wall for "cold" storage and two handy niches
• Two redwood plant benches with overhead "Gro-Lux" flourescent light fixtures, converting the cellar into a temperature and humidity controlled "greenhouse" with time controlled lights
• Main entry for water line with water meter and filtration cartridge
External Highlights
• Large stone planter with lamp post in front yard
• Antique coach lanterns flanking the front door
• Covered porch off Main Kitchen and Dining Room with coach lamp
• Small Courtyard off Main Kitchen porch, enclosed by privacy fence
• Coach lantern and "boot scraper" on Spruce Alley side
• Coach lantern flanking Summer Kitchen door
• Old-fashioned, covered light over Storage Room door
• Two attached "his" and "her" outhouses
• Back yard enclosed by six foot privacy fence
• Limestone-dolomite stone wall supporting illuminated parking area
• Pennsylvania "Bluestone" stepping stone walkway from back door to semi-circular stone staircase leading up to parking area (photo above)
• "Williamsburg" style garden plot
• Small tool shed outbuilding, originally used as a smoke house
• Small porch off Summer Kitchen
• Larger, covered porch off Office
• Floodlights at main back door illuminating yard
March 2000
Email: the1789house@aol.com
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