Monongahela Area Historical Society’s Longwell House getting makeover

By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com

It’s been standing for nearly 150 years, and thanks to the Monongahela Area Historical Society, the Longwell House on Monongahela’s West Main Street will stand for many more generations to come.
The organization is now revealing restoration work being done on the house, which was originally built in 1872 by local architect John Blythe and owned by Capt. David Longwell, a well-known riverboat captain. The house is now home to the society and its historic Monongahela collections.
The historical society purchased the house 14 months ago, and due to the property being on the National Register, the group is trying to preserve as much of the original house as possible to keep the structure’s Italianate design.
“When we bought it, we knew what we were getting into,” said historical society President Laura Magone. “It’s structurally sound but needs work.”
Phase I of the project is currently underway by Monongahela councilman and architect Ken Kulak, and includes renovation of the house’s roof, gutters, downspouts, corbels, an original bay window and original stair handrail.
“Phase I is about making everything safe,” Magone said.
But the project has not been without its headaches.
Magone said the society received a surprise in August when Sammy Kowall of Mon Valley Drone performed what the group hoped would be a routine inspection.
It was discovered the house had four chimneys with bricks that were falling apart and misaligned, and the safety hazard forced the historical society to change its renovation plans.
“We never expected to have to work on four chimneys,” Magone said. “When he told us he looked up and could see daylight, we knew this was an emergency situation. The bricks could either fall out and hit somebody from 50 feet in the air or the whole chimney could’ve toppled.
“We saw we had big problems and we couldn’t wait. Fixing the chimneys wasn’t optional. Three of the chimneys had to be entirely rebuilt, and one was repointed. We wanted to put air conditioning on the second floor, but that had to wait because of the chimneys.”
Fortunately, local mason Jules Branch offered his services to repair the chimneys for a much lower cost than what was expected.
“We were very fortunate that someone local came along and helped us,” Magone said. “We had people tell us they wouldn’t even come out and look at it unless it was $25,000 to start. We were very fortunate that someone local came along and helped us. This isn’t a private home, and he knew we weren’t renovating it just so we could sell it to make a profit. We view this property as a community asset.”
Funding for the $75,000 project comes from a combination of the Washington County Local Share Account program and fundraising efforts from the historical society.
Magone said LSA funding for the project has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is optimistic phase one will be completed by early 2021.
“We’re just so appreciative of sharefunding,” Magone said. “It means so much to small groups like us.”
Magone said the society — and the Longwell House — has been closed to the public during the pandemic, but that will soon change.
“We will look to open shortly,” Magone said. “We will have a safety center with hand sanitizer. Eventually, we’ll get to the point where we can have exhibits and classes. But we thought now is a good time to have the construction done while the world is topsy-turvy.”