James Phillip Burgess and John G. Schultz’s house may now be a home, but it used to be a railroad station from around 1889. It was only used as a depot for a couple decades, then filled with water and mold, as well as the occasional renter. About a year ago, the couple bought the building for $300,000 and poured another $120,000 into it to renovate it into something habitable and homey.
They started with a new roof, septic tank, and gutters. Then they got to work on the inside of the 3,000-square-foot main house. It still has traces of its former self; including the original crown moldings, patterned ceiling, and door hinges. There’s a sign outside that says Stanfordville, reminiscent of what you’d find on other depots. The waiting room is now the living room, but the ticket booth still stands on the spiral staircase’s landing. Upstairs is the home’s only bedroom, as well as an office nook. “We love things that are different,” Schultz tells The Wall Street Journal. The 2.9 acres also house a guest cottage and the depot’s old warehouse, as well as the occasional railroad tie. One of the two bathrooms has a cathedral ceiling and a soaking tub left behind from a previous owner.
The main house isn’t the only building that got some attention. The warehouse used to hold trains, so its sliding wooden doors are large. It’s now part garage, part “fort” for the kids of friends and relatives. It has a game room, including a grand piano, and bedroom with four twin beds. The guest house has a full bath and kitchen, and the wooden deck is the perfect spot to watch the creek roll by. It’s easy to see why Burgess and Schultz choo-choo-choose to live here.
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