A century-old home on East Capitol Avenue is getting a new life as renovations near completion on the latest Golden Hammer Award winner.
The home at 802 E. Capitol Ave., owned by Jonathan Sumner under the name ARK Invest LLC, was recognized as the winner of the August Golden Hammer Award earlier this month.
The Golden Hammer Award recognizes individuals in Jefferson City who are restoring historic structures at least 50 years old, preserving them for years to come and showing the pride the community has for its past.
Sumner said he and his wife, a Jefferson City native, were living in Texas when they decided they wanted to buy a house in Mid-Missouri. Sumner, a Sedalia native, said they were visiting family in the area and driving downtown when they saw the sign in the yard of 802 E. Capitol Ave.
“We were ready to get back home,” he said.
Although the original intention was to purchase the home for the couple and their young children to move into, plans changed after they found out they would need to keep the structure a duplex in order to maintain its historical designation, Sumner said.
The home likely was built sometime between 1910-13 by William and Bertha Houchin, who are believed to have used the property for boarders, as they were not listed as living at the property in the 1913 city directory. The property was originally built to be a single-family home and was likely rented to prison guards and railroad workers and their families in the early years.
In 1921, the Houchins sold the property to Chester E. Leach for $2,500. Leach continued to rent out the property, though by 1951, his sister-in-law, Ruth, was listed as living at 802 E. Capitol. She was the only family member listed as living in the home.
Chester Leach died in 1966, and the property was inherited by his nieces and nephews who sold it to James and June Dyke in 1967. The Dykes sold the property in 1968 to Carnie and Luelia Stone, who held onto it until 1973. The records are unclear, but it was likely the Dykes or the Stones who renovated the property into a duplex in the late 1960s.
In 1973, M. M. Parker purchased the home, continuing to rent out the two units for the next 20 years, when he sold to James and Leora May. In 2011, Leora May sold to Terra Gemma LLC, which sold to ARK Invest LLC in March 2017.
According to records from the Historic City of Jefferson, the property was lived in only a few times over the past decade, and the home had seen better days. Sumner said the house had a lot of major problems from the start, including a hole in the roof from where it was hit by lightning at one point. That hole allowed water to leak in, damaging much of the original hardware, doors and trim they had hoped to save.
“Once we got in there, a bunch of it had been painted or wallpapered over, and then a lot of it had water damage, so we had to get rid of a lot more than we had planned, unfortunately,” Sumner said.
There also were some unexpected foundation issues that had to be dealt with as beams in the basement had to be replaced and reinforced, he said.
“It was due to that water damage, sitting for years,” Sumner said.
Luckily, the May 22 tornado that hit several homes along East Capitol Avenue missed the house at 802. Sumner said the property being slightly downhill from other places that were hit may have helped protect it.
Sumner said the renovation is taking a little longer than they’d hoped, but they plan to have it finished this fall, likely in about three months.
“The outside is mostly done, and now we’re getting closer on the inside,” he said, noting cabinets were being installed earlier this month, and the hardwood floors were being refinished. “It’s been a long process. … We’ve definitely learned a lot. It’s been a great experience.”
Once finished, Sumner said they will be looking for renters for the property. The Sumners themselves wound up purchasing a home in Hartsburg.
“We still love the house; we love the property in that area. We think there’s a lot of future growth potential to happen, and we’re definitely excited,” Sumner said. “We’ll be happy to see people living there and being happy over there.”
Sumner said he and his wife are very appreciative of receiving the Golden Hammer award and hope others will also try to salvage and bring back to life some of the older homes in Jefferson City’s east side, especially after the tornado.
“We hope others will find some enjoyment in that as well and keep trying to improve that East Capitol area,” Sumner said.