Two Hundred and Two years later, Time to Restore

We’re not really sure what the little historic house at 309 Fourteenth Street was used for after it was built around 1824. There are a lot of unknowns, but why the Harmony Society built it here may be one clue.

The old village of Ekonomie had a style as designed by Frederick Rapp, but also a rhythm to its layout. Buildings were not built and occupied haphazardly, but with a purpose in mind that we’re not fully aware of yet. One theory was that the society leader, George Rapp, had the more prominent people live near him, and another is that the folks lived near where they worked. So, one thing for sure was that the prominent side of town was to the west of 309. He, and the leadership seemed to have lived just above the river on the bluff between Ohio Street (what is now Rt 65) and Church Street. The Rapp family appreciated a good view of the river valley, but probably more importantly, that they could take advantage of the prevailing winds. So therefore the stables were to the east, or down wind of most of the residences blowing orders and flys away from the houses. So, for now, my guess is the house had something to do with the stables or some other unseemly industry on the east side of the village.

The house itself is a light timber frame held together with mortises and tendons, but not pegged. Normally a wood dowel or peg would be driven into the tenon and mortise joint to lock these joints together, but the Harmonists used hand wrought iron nails instead, something I’ve not seen anywhere else. This may have beed an expedient way to accommodate the need to quickly construct houses for the almost 700 residents. As with all the frame houses, this typical wood timber frame was then sided with beaded weatherboards, again, with hand made square nails and then lathed and plastered inside. We hope to restore all of that.

We hope to start soon, so feel free to ask questions about the house and the reconstruction.