Historic home donated to HCJ for rehab

The Historic City of Jefferson will host a public open house of a home donated by a Cole County commissioner before it is rehabbed to give an inside look of the rehabilitation process.

Presiding Cole County Commissioner Sam Bushman and wife, Linda, donated 224 E. Dunklin St. to the Historic City of Jefferson for rehabilitation. The Bushmans purchased the property 15-18 years ago and leased the house, and Bushman said it was rented as a photography studio.

He said he donated the home, built in 1915, because he wanted the home to be rehabilitated since it is in the heart of the Historic Southside/Old Munichburg District and Neighborhood Plan area. The plan calls for rezoning areas in the neighborhood, improving roads and encouraging more developments.

His family members were also merchants in the Old Munichburg, Bushman said, and he wanted to see the area and homes revitalized.

"I want it to be brought back to how it was in 1915 because I think that would be wonderful," Bushman said.

There is a garage on the property, but Bushman said the Jefferson City Board of Adjustment approved splitting the lot so the HCJ could own the home but he could keep the garage.

The HCJ plans to remove old carpet in the home, clean it out and install a staircase. The home originally had a staircase that was taken out several years ago, and the upstairs has not been used since, local historian Jane Beetem said.

A public open house is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the East Dunklin Street property.

"We wanted to use these houses as demonstrations of how rehab can be done and obviously there's lot of examples around town. But having the houses open allows people to see the befores and afters and ask questions and hopefully get more people interested in it and provide support for people who want to rehab houses," Beetem said. "Everybody enjoys seeing what we've done, and it's a pretty house, but you can appreciate the effort that went into it if you see the before."

The HCJ started a revolving fund last year to acquire, rehabilitate and possibly sell historic homes in Jefferson City. After the open house, Beetem said, the group will hire a contractor to rehabilitate the home.

The Addison Ogden family lived in the property in the 1930s, according to a press release, and Addison Ogden was the "guardian" of John the Baptist, a well-known Jefferson City resident and parade leader.