Following many weeks of work, the historical Robinson-Pavey house in Washington C.H. has traveled down State Route 41 to its new home to be enjoyed by the community for generations to come.
Emma White — the local resident who commissioned the move — has been working hard to restore the house and preserve its history. These efforts finally culminated on Monday morning when the last stretch of road was conquered and the house rolled up the driveway.
“It is wonderful,” White said during an interview Tuesday. “It is a lot of relief. Yesterday we had family, friends and other fans of history over as the house was being placed. There were a lot of people I knew, some I didn’t know. Of course we had our brunch and Jason Gilmore catered it. He is also going to be in charge of decorating the inside of the house.”
White said the work is not finished, as she has plans for its complete restoration. Currently, the plan includes all new wiring, plumbing and even a dry rock fence to highlight the front of the home. She said she will be contacting the Ohio Historical Society for good restoration experts, and that she expects the house to be as beautiful as it was on Court Street.
“After the foundation is settled, Dingey Movers will come back and lower it onto the foundation,” White said. “We are going to restore her as much to her original look as we can. There is a lot of work ahead and I really hope that one day people will drive past it and really admire her.”
White said plenty of residents have already stopped to express appreciation for her efforts and take photos of the home. In fact, White said the support from the community has been overwhelming and she is incredibly grateful. She said the community can continue to take photos and stop to see its history.
“Mark Bryant was instrumental in the location, and it now has a beautiful new home to stay on,” White said. “Everyone has been so supportive, and I do not want to take away from what each person did. The city was great, the county was great, and the utility companies were very helpful. I hope in the future more people will get involved and appreciate the historical homes in Fayette County. We have a lot of beautiful homes, and even the downtown area, that could use a bit of work to restore them, but it would look great. Contact the Fayette County Historical Society or the Ohio Historical Society and see what you can do to help keep this history intact and be supportive of their work.”
The Robinson-Pavey home was featured in the Friday, Aug. 25, 1978 edition of the Record-Herald where author Dr. Allen D. Griffiths detailed the history of the house, dating back to the beginning of its construction in 1848. The first owner, John H.Robinson, who was born in New York in 1821, continually built onto the “Gothic Revival” style home until 1860 and, Griffiths wrote in his article, that the home appeared to be the oldest Gothic Revival house in the county.
North Folk Holdings took ownership March 6 of a 1.33-acre site at 403 W. Court St. that will be developed into the new Sonic drive-in restaurant, necessitating the move of the historical home. North Folk Holdings operates 35 Sonic drive-ins, primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, said Jake Stauffer, a partner at North Folk Holdings, Inc., in a phone interview earlier this year with the Record-Herald.
Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy
