Pre-Civil War house gets modern makeover
by Wendy Turrell
The double-century home at 4749 W. Streetsboro Rd. has been sheltering Richfield families since 1815. Now, the new owner, Dan Chirayath, is giving it an extensive remodeling and reinvention for a 21st-Century family.
Chirayath found the date that the house was built in an old county tax record, according to Richfield Historical Society Curator Linda Fleming. According to Fleming, there is no record of the original builders of the home. However, she continues to research it, questioning that a frame house would have been built that early.
Chirayath has a plaque dated 1975 that certifies the house as a Century Home, and he said it is the oldest home listed on the Richfield Township Historical Registry.
A loved family home
Chirayath purchased the home from Tom and Sandy Kurpik, who moved into the house in 1970. They found the large house and its land that backs up to Richfield Woods Park an ideal place to rear their four children, Paul, Lisa, Andy and Wendi. Sandy called it “a happy house” and said, “We never expected to move and hoped we would stay forever.”
Although no records exist to prove it, the Kurpik family may have lived in the home the longest. Their need to downsize from a two-story floor plan and difficulty in taking care of the grounds necessitated a move, and they put it on the market in 2024.
Kurpik said leaving neighbors who are dear friends was as difficult as leaving their home. The families’ children had grown up together, with the kids feeling just as “at home” in one house as the other. Kurpik said their newly constructed apartment in Copley is the antithesis of their old home.
“Because it’s so new and modern, that made the adjustment easier for us,” she added.
Century of challenges
Chirayath found challenges in remodeling the venerable home. “We’ve renovated some pretty old houses in the past, but none this old,” he admitted. The job entailed putting in a new electrical system, which eliminated antiquated knob and tube wiring; new plumbing; and a modern forced-air HVAC system in place of an old steam boiler and radiators.
Chirayath’s crew replaced the floors throughout the downstairs with solid hickory. “And we spent a lot of time leveling and straightening the structure, as 200+ years had taken its toll on the house,” he explained.
One of the more interesting features of the vintage house was a stable attached to the back, which could be accessed from the kitchen area. It had not been used in years. Chirayath also found that at some point in the 1950s the kitchen had been added onto, and a second-floor addition had been built on top of the kitchen addition. He estimated the date from the clues in construction.
To modernize and add more room to the kitchen area, Chirayath took out the wall between the stable and kitchen and created an expanded kitchen. The stable area was in such poor condition that the floor system needed reframing.
“The old stable had five windows, which we incorporated into our kitchen design, and includes a large mudroom accessible from the rear of the house. We vaulted the ceiling and insulated the space to create a large, open kitchen concept. We kept several of the old timbers to use as architectural details in that space,” Chirayath explained.
The wall removal presented a unique opportunity to find some interesting relics, including several horseshoes and a “Porters Cure for Pain” bottle, circa 1870. The high-alcohol “cure” was purported to have cured many ailments and was sold to Civil War veterans.
The house that apparently was built before the Civil War, and likely sheltered many families in its 210-year life span, will continue to live on in the Richfield Historic District.
Reconstructionist
Chirayath and his wife, Lisa, moved to Bath in 2013 when Lisa found the “perfect property” for them to buy. It was alongside Yellow Creek. The house was being rented when they purchased it and they became landlords. When the tenant’s lease ran out, the Chirayath family with three active children moved in. Dan and Lisa started to remodel the unique house. This was their first foray into being a landlord and rehabbing a property. But it was only the beginning.
Chirayath recalled, “We were disillusioned with the stock market and looking for a way to invest to pay for three college educations that would be coming along.” They decided to form a residential real estate business, and since then have completed many renovations with a portfolio of rental properties in Bath and Richfield. Sometimes, the rehabbed homes are sold instead of rented.
What started as an investment strategy to save for college tuition has turned into a successful business model. The Chirayath children are now well on their way to realizing the advantages of their parents’ foresight. Daughter Indigo is a sophomore at Ohio University, and sons Emmet and Ravi are a sophomore and senior respectively at Revere High School. Although Chirayath also holds down a day job as vice president of operations for Avalign Technologies, he and Lisa always have an eye out for likely real estate projects. “We love breathing new life into an old home, adding modern amenities, and creating a new space that embraces the past and is ready to welcome a new family,” he enthused.
Photo caption: The back porch of the house had originally been a stable. It was added to the kitchen so it could include the newest appliances.