Espy House – Bedford, PA

Until yesterday I had never heard of Espy House in Bedford, Pennsylvania, but thanks to the magic of cyberspace, I received a couple of first-hand photographs of that very place from friends John and Steve who are ‘on the road.’  What a charmer!  And such a contrast, style-wise, to historic homes in our little neighborhood – stone, rather than wood and snuggled right up to the adjacent building without benefit of a spacious garden.  At least as far as I could tell.

The Bedford house was built “about 1771” (a hundred years earlier than the R. H. Espy House here in Oysterville) by David; ‘ours’ in 1871 by my great-grandfather Robert Hamilton. Whether Robert was a direct descendant of David, I have no idea.  I hope Cuzzin Ralph, our family genealogist, will enlighten me.

The R.H. Espy House – Oysterville, WA

Each of the houses is identified by a sign stating its historic significance. The claim to fame of Oysterville’s Espy House (known locally as “The Red House”), is that it was built by the co-founder of Oysterville.  The Bedford Espy House has one of those popular connections with George Washington.  I don’t know if our nation’s founding father actually slept there, but he could have.   The building served as his headquarters when he was trying to quell (or quench?) the Whiskey Rebellion back in 1774.

Espy House Sign – Bedford, PA

And speaking of signs in front of houses –apparently ours (the Tom Crellin House) was sporting a ‘For Sale’ sign again this weekend while we were gone.  It’s peculiar how that Pacific Realty sign in front of the house next door just seems to migrate to our place each time we are gone for a few days.  We aren’t exactly sure what the message is supposed to be.  A not-so-gentle hint that someone wants to buy?  Or, more likely, that someone wants us to move?   I’m hoping realtor Leslie Brophy and her crew aren’t getting a lot of nuisance calls about it.  On the other hand, maybe there has been an offer or two…