What I know of this house;
In a real estate listing from 2015 it was described as The original Mullenix homestead.
“For the first time in 35 years the original Mullenix homestead is on the market,
don’t miss the opportunity to own this historical farmhouse! You’ll fall in love with the charm of yesteryear starting with the wrap around porch, fir floors, bead board ceilings, solid wd doors, leaded glass, & built-ins…Everything you would expect in an older home. Updated electrical, plumbing, furnace, tankless HWH, & new roof.
Several outbuildings inc. greenhouse & barn. Organic gardens, sports court & more!”
We learned a few things from this gallery; the sports court and gravel driveway were nice and fresh, and not maintained by the previous owners. We can see the kitchen before it was remodeled and I wish I knew where that wooden French door ended up. And the enclosed porch/sun room before they added drywall.
The listing information that was included in 2021 was “1912 Homestead! One of the few remaining original 1912 Farms! Unique property, fully updated w/many original finishes remaining. Eligible to be certified an organic farm! 2726 sf farmhouse & 7.26 ac property w/3bedrms, 2.5 baths, incredible, newly customized chef’s kitchen w/Miele appliances, Bellmont 1900 series custom cabinetry, Signature hardware, copper farmhouse sink, soapstone counters, solid hickory flooring & more. Stunning master suite w/open beams, soaring ceilings, skylights. Exquisite, en suite 5pc master bath. 65’x 60’sustainable garden, irrigation well, limitless expansion possibilities. Lighted Sports court, cinderblock greenhouse, outbuildings, garages, RV pkg. Adjacent 5.02 ac tax parcel available for 12.28 total acres.”
What I fell in love with was the character of the house. Most of the homes for sale in this area were built after 1950, and many in the 70’s, with the Scandinavian style A frame roofs and all the knotty pine one can stomach. They’re lovely, but not for me.
I fell in love with the wrap around porch, quirky roof lines from additions across a century of homeowners, wainscot paneling, original leaded glass window, fir floors. The bay window with its Victorian details. The front door surround. The slightly terrifying stairway with steep shallow treads. Some of the more modern touches lured me in as well; the large soaker tub and newly renovated kitchen with shaker cabinets and copper sink were definitely enticing. (I do wish they’d chosen a tile for the kitchen, but I’m not about to rip up a recently installed and perfectly functional floor… I will never get over the terrible wood they chose. Ugh.)
The previous owners also remodeled the little guest suite. It’s a cozy little studio with a kitchenette and loft space for sleeping.
I’ve been trying to find information that dates back past 2008, but I’ve found it difficult, at least online. When we first moved in, the people that bought the house and renovated it sometime in the 80’s stopped by and talked a bit about the property, how it had become too much for them so they moved to a smaller place in Gig Harbor.
Some things I remember from that conversation are that the shed and garage were built from materials reclaimed from a barn that used to be down at the bottom of the hill and that he had planned to tear down the garage/guest suite space that has since been renovated. He talked a bit about the addition and upgrades they had done, gave me a business card and said to contact them for pictures. I reached out and sadly never heard back. I hope they’re doing OK.
What we’ve gathered from research is that the primary bedroom on the second floor and the living room below were added on in the 1980’s, which would mean that the wrap around porch was either added or extended, which would explain why the plum trees are too close to the house.
Around that same time, the house was converted from wood stove to forced air heat. The brick surround and chimney for the old stove are still intact in the kitchen.
The people we bought the house from, when remodeling the kitchen, had to fix the chimney from the foundation up. It’s no longer useable as a chimney, though I long for a wood burning stove. We’re planning to add one to the sun room, which has a mason floor.
The sun room, I surmise, used to be a porch, as the wall connecting it to the kitchen is an exterior wall, with siding encased in drywall and a brick floor that matches the brick walkway out front.
At the back of the house there is a stone patio with brick foundation. Unsure if that was originally part of the house or added when the addition was added or what it might’ve been used for. We hope to put a hot tub there someday.
Upstairs, upon close inspection, you see where the wood flooring changes from original wood, to newer wood that matches closely. The hallway bathroom is so large, I am guessing it used to be a bedroom.
There’s a small ‘mudroom’ on the first floor that is plumbed for a bathtub, so I surmise that this was the original bathroom for the house, when indoor plumbing was introduced. What is now our dining room was likely the living room, or “parlor” and what we use as a breakfast room was probably the small dining room and where the tight staircase lives.
It’s likely the staircase was moved when the addition was added, as the door frame from the living to dining room has the corner cut and none of the windows are square to the room now. The stair banister at the top also cuts down the center of a window awkwardly. Uncertain what the layout was before, but guessing the staircase was located somewhere in the area of the addition.
Searching online, I’ve found some interesting tidbits, but have not officially been able to connect the dots. This article is interesting; From Kansas to Kitsap County: An 1889 Account by C. A. Mullenix – it transcribes a letter written by Cary Allen Mullenix (1827-1889) relating information about his 1889 trip from Fredonia, Kansas, to Seattle and Kitsap County, Washington.
What I found interesting is a tidbit at the end of the article “Carey Allen and family came to the Sound sometime in February 1889 and settled on a homestead two miles south of Port Orchard,..” I’d love to determine if that homestead is our house!
It’s really fun to try and guess the history of the house and land, but it would be really nice to have photos and talk to people who lived here prior to 2015.
We’re working to change out modern fixtures for more period appropriate ones and restore some of the character of the farmhouse that was lost when people who wanted to make it feel more modern lived here.
This house speaks to me and I think it’s happy that we’re here.
We understand it and it takes care of us.
Leaping Rabbit 