by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
In the late 1800s houses were like a work of art in Springfield, and 115 years later a house on Hubbard Street has been restored to resemble what it may have looked like in the Victorian era.
In 2003 Jack Meeks purchased the home that was built in 1890 on the corner of 2nd Street and Hubbard Street in Springfield. For the past two years it has taken a lot of work, patience and money to get the home to where it is today.
“We thought the house was extraordinary, especially the woodwork,” he said. “We really thought this area was really coming back.”
Why Springfield? Meeks and his wife decided they wanted to move to a place that was a little different.
“Just watching what is going on here, we believed the neighborhood is coming back enough for us to get into it,” he said. “When we saw the house there wasn’t a ‘for sale’ sign on it. The previous owner wasn’t actively marketing it.”
When the couple saw the elaborate woodwork inside the house, a ‘sold’ sign flashed in their minds. But Meeks never thought restoring a house would take this long.
When the couple began the restoration process they wanted to assure the house remained historically accurate. Before Meeks and contractors tackled the inside of the house, the whole roof was replaced with historically correct shingles, with slate on the turret, he said. The paint on the outside of the house was white when they purchased it, but they stripped it down to what they thought were the original colors. They found a cream color painted on the majority of the house with light green trim around the windows and in other areas to accent the woodwork.
The house is three stories with 11 rooms and four bathrooms. Meeks got a permit to turn the attic into living space to be used by their two sons. The whole house also has hardwood floors, six fireplaces all with their own style and 50 windows. The front porch wraps around from the front door to the back of the house where the kitchen is. Landscaping is still in the process of being completed.
Because the house was built before the turn of the century, there was no use for a garage, but there was a carriage house. There was no indoor plumbing and there wasn’t an indoor kitchen. Throughout the years, past owners added plumbing, electricity and an indoor kitchen, but Meeks said everything had to be replaced.
“If you can think what can be done, we’ve done it,” he said.
“We just want to keep the look historically correct.”
Every room has hardwood floors, but Meeks never knew what they actually looked like until they were cleaned.
“There was 115 years of dirt and grime,” said Meeks. “And I never thought the wood would look this good.”
With the exception of a few boards that had to be replaced, the wood floors are all original. When the house was built, builders only used heart wood, which is a dark, red color. Along with the wood floors there is woodwork on the ceilings and on the front staircase that is all original. The tile around the fire- places was all cleaned and the colors of the tiles vary from room to room.
“We wanted to keep everything consistent in the house,” said Meeks. “That is a very big deal. We appreciate the quality and the interesting architecture.”
The walls had to be replastered and some windows were broken, which were replaced with windows made in that time period and were bought from a warehouse in Deland.
“If you look at what we have done and what we have left, we’ll be doing stuff for quite a while,” said Meeks.
The old carriage house could not be restored due to termite damage, but the Meeks built a garage for their cars and there is an apartment above the garage that will be rented out.
Finishing the kitchen, bathrooms and other small jobs still needs to be done before they can start bringing in furniture and decorating.
“If you see it, we’ve probably done it,” said Meeks. “Until I look at the pictures taken before we started working, I forget what the house looked like.”
Meeks has looked briefly into the history of the house and he knows that it was built by a man with the last name of Perry. He said every house in Springfield has a story.
“There have been other houses in Springfield that have been changing since we’ve been here,” he said. “That’s what we want. We want people to come in, buy a home and fix it up if they can.”
When Meeks purchased the house, it wasn’t in horrible shape, but it wasn’t in great shape.
“The woodwork, the turret and the view of downtown drew us to this house,” he said.
Meeks said it is neat to have a house in Springfield that has been fixed up.
“It is very convenient being so close to downtown and there is a neat group of people living here,” he said. “The community can’t have a vibrant city if the heart of the city is sick. The community is contributing to bring this part of town back.”