Heritage Weekend Tile 2002

Built by Angus and Eliza Inskeep in 1890 as their winter home, the Inskeep house is constructed in the Queen Ann Victorian style, featuring a porch that wrapped around the south and east sides trimmed with ornate gingerbread woodwork.

The house was the first in the South Branch Valley to have a central heating system, a primitive unit prone to overheating. There’s at least one recorded incident of the volunteer fire company being summoned by ringing the Presbyterian Church bell.

Early on, electricity was provided by a Delco Electric System, which used highly explosive glass batteries to generate energy. Because of the danger, these systems were houses in concrete buildings.

The carriage house remains and is being used as a garage and small apartment on the neighboring property. The ice house and other small buildings are long gone.

At Angus Inskeep’s death in 1913, the house was inherited by his adopted daughter, Sallie Comfort Williams, and her husband, George T. Williams. It has had many other owners in its 115 years.

The house retained its original Victorian features until extensive remodeling took place in the early 1950s. The owners, John and Elizabeth Coffman, removed the porch and gingerbread trim, squared off the bays on the south and east sides, replaced faded wallpaper with plaster. Only the banister and two back rooms on the second floor were left intact.

Directions: 106 Winchester Ave, Moorefield