Gate House renovations to maintain historic look
by JILL SCHMELZER Ken-Ton Editor

Caroline and Bill Duax purchased the Gate House property in April 2005. They advocated for the local historical designation of the 1.6 acre property at Main Street and Getzville Road in an effort to prevent it from being turned into apartment buildings. The Duaxes plan to integrate the original posts and beams and as much of the original wooden structures as possible in a four-year plan to renovate the barn houses into livable dwellings. Photo by John Rusac Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

It's been a long and interesting ride for the Duax family in their quest to save The Gate House at Main Street and Getzville Road.

It started in 2001, when large for sale signs were posted on the property and it was bought by a developer. Caroline Duax said she did not want to see the 19th century buildings be turned into apartments. So she and her husband, Bill, made it their mission to have the property locally designated as a historical landmark.

After filing their intent with Amherst's Historical Preservation Committee, the property was locally designated a historical landmark in 2002. This meant the exterior of the buildings, which could be seen from the right of way, could not be changed without a notification hearing by the HPC.

The fireplace was installed in the west barn house in 1919 for Catherine Wilcox's sister, Mable Wilcox. Pictured is the original posts and beams that are still holding the house up on Main Street at Getzville Road.

Approximately 1.6 acres of land, including the barn houses, stone wall, carriage house and perimeter of the property, were historically designated.

In 2004, the owner of the property offered to sell it to the Duaxes, and they purchased it in April 2005.

"We lived on Washington Highway since 1971," Duax said. "The site had been part of our landscape."

The Duaxes had the property rezoned residential, and it is their intention to live in the smaller home, while their daughter and her family live in the larger home.

Inside the dwellings, the Duaxes ran into a severe mold problem, and it was recommended that they gut the interior. This is phase one of a four-year plan to restore the buildings to their 1904 state.

The west barn house, on the left when viewed from Main Street, is supported by trees from 1810, or the Federal Period. The east house is rectangular in shape and is believed to have been built between 1840 and 1850. The posts and beams date the buildings to those time periods.

A 25-foot shed is attached to the east house and connected to the west house via an archway, the toll gate, which was used to connect the properties.

The toll gate was the last standing on Route 5 between Buffalo and Albany, Duax said.

Arthur Hedstrom purchased between 100 and 200 acres of land when he married Catherine Wilcox, Duax explained. The couple hired architect Frederick Loverin, who designed The Lenox Hotel on North Street in Buffalo, to renovate their home. Wilcox wanted her sister Mable to live with them, but Hedstrom wouldn't have it, so he renovated the west barn house for Mable.

While redesigning the east and west buildings, Loverin brought the shed up, raised the roof line and pulled the fronts of the homes out so the second floors hung over the first floors, Duax said. He also added dormers in the front.

Until the present, it was thought that the properties were built in 1904, but after gutting the homes it was discovered that they were older, Duax said.

She and her husband requested approval from the committee to install drainage tile because the homes did not have gutters, which caused the mold. After it was approved, the Duaxes received a grant for an archeologist to look for artifacts. He excavated a cistern, which told the story of how the early residents lived, Duax said.

She added that they also found bottles from the early 1900s that she guessed were left by construction workers who renovated the homes.

Originally, the Duaxes were going to keep only the exterior looking historic but modernize the inside. However, now they will keep the interior in its historic state as well.

"Now that we found the posts and beams, we want to integrate the two and highlight as much of the wooden construction as we can," Duax said, noting that the features had been wallpapered and hidden prior to the gutting of the interior.

The Duaxes are also using as much "green" material as possible to promote a safe environment, Duax added.

Phase one is complete. Now the focus will be making both buildings watertight.

The back wall of the carriage house, which is 48 feet by 11 feet, had deteriorated, so it was taken down and rebuilt. Approximately 65 windows have also been restored.

"The people have been so supportive," Duax said. "The HPC has been very pleased.

The Amherst Town Board will recognize the Duaxes for their efforts during the Dec. 3 meeting.

"We feel that 99.9 percent of people are interested in seeing this restored," Duax said, noting that the roof was restored in shake cedar shingles and a couple of the original shingles were used.