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Industrial complex restored

January 13, 2008|By PAT SCHOOLEY
(Page 2 of 2)

The basement under the eastern section of the building has a wide door that once was used to allow livestock in. Cubbies in the wall opposite the door held the manger, and McCrossin has left them as testament to that earlier use. He has also left in place every early nail or spike that had been hammered into either the stone walls or the wooden framing. A barrel roller is stored here, a long, dolly-like contraption that allows a worker to transport a barrel along its handles to a new position. To one side stands the original store's safe and scale. A new porch, copied from the one in an old photograph found at the courthouse, was added as well.

The main level of the east wing, four steps above the store level, has two areas. The dining room toward the front is fitted with tables and chairs. The back area has been refitted as a kitchen furnished with a six-burner gas stove, a walk-in refrigerator-freezer and baked-enamel steel cladding. McCrossin built the kitchen to commercial code.

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Over time, McCrossin restored the store, with shelving, counters and cupboards all returned to their original positions. Wider, broader steps were built from the road to the new porch over the store's entrance. The shelves now serve as McCrossin's pantry, with canned goods and bagged products stored as if they were displayed for sale.

He also repaired the wall of the older brick house that splayed out 14 inches on the east and nine inches on its west side. First, he excavated under the foot of the wall, then placed braces through the windows and slowly pulled the wall back into true with cables attached at the back of the structure. The building has been stabilized but is not yet in service. The furnace next to it remains untouched. Originally used to produce iron, it was later converted to a limekiln to make lime for mortar, whitewash and agriculture.

It took a remarkable person to see the promise in this property and to have the skills and vision to restore it. In 1999, a wealth of original, historic fabric remained, but in a deteriorated condition. Who could imagine a new use for the structure that would justify the effort and expense it would cost to rehabilitate it?

An old building must work, must justify its existence by having a purpose that outweighs the cost of its restoration and maintenance. McCrossin found this purpose and gave the old store new life by making a home for himself and giving people a taste of another century, another way of living.




Terms to know

Bay: A space along the facade of a building, defined by an opening.

Barrel bung: A stopper for the hole in a barrel through which it is filled or emptied

Cubbies: Small holes or compartments.

Fascia: A wide, flat horizontal band on a wall surface.

Exposed aggregate: A floor or wall made of cement and aggregate (pebbles or gravel); the surface is removed chemically or mechanically, leaving the aggregate exposed.

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