Unique 'mud house' in Penfield goes on the market. Take a peek inside
Penfield's historic mud house is on the market.
The 1,824-square-foot house, located at 992 Whalen Road, near Baird Road, in Penfield was listed last week at $174,900, according to its real estate listing. Sale of the property, positioned on a nearly half-acre parcel, is currently pending, according to real estate agent Becky Sobolewski of RISE Real Estate, who is representing the current homeowner.
What is a 'mud house'?
The house, built in 1835 by William Gors, is of rammed-earth construction – a combination of clay and mud and cut straw. When it was built, the material was packed into 1-foot-high wooden forms atop a rubble stone foundation. Because each layer had to dry before another could be added, workers spent two years building the house.
The interior of the house looks like any other updated cottage: plastered walls, fireplaces and sizable rooms with a modern kitchen. It even has central air conditioning.
The exterior, though, is 18-inch-thick brown mud as hard as concrete. The house expands in hot weather and shrinks in the cold.
Why is the 'mud house' unique?
The two-story house is the only mud house in New York state with its original exterior intact. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is designated as a Penfield landmark.
The structure is one of two mud houses in Penfield. But siding was added to the other one, at 1620 Qualtrough Road, in the 1930s to protect the structure's fragile mud walls. That home, built in 1832, is also a Penfield landmark.
The mud house on Whalen Road was converted from a residence to a business office for Brother Brothers Nursery in the mid-20th century, according to the town of Penfield website. It was then converted back to a single-family home in 1980, in a restoration effort that took nearly two decades. The current owner purchased the house in 2008 and this year restored the house's exterior, according to the listing. Over the past decade, a delipidated barn on the property was demolished.
The house features its original wood floors and three fireplaces, all original, Sobolewski said.
About Penfield, NY
Penfield is a town in eastern Monroe County with approximately 39,000 residents. It is located several miles north of the Erie Canal and has numerous parks with a wide variety of terrain, and borders the southeastern portion of Irondequoit Bay. The property is within the Penfield Central School District.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Unique 'mud house' in Penfield goes on the market. Take a peek inside
