Victorian home featured in tour

The home's second and third floors have never been opened to the public.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
KINSMAN - The Kinsman Historical Society will host its biennial Harvest of Homes Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
A highlight of this year's tour is the James McGranahan Home at 8569 Main St., better known today as the Baumgardner Funeral Home.
McGranahan, a nationally recognized composer of hymns, owned the home from about 1880 until his death in 1907.
During the 1880s, he and his wife transformed the property from a modest 1840s stone house to the sprawling, 7,500-square-foot Victorian mansion it is today.
"The original house was very small compared to what the home is now," said funeral director Pamela Baumgardner Toth, who occupies the home's second and third floors with her husband, William, and their three children. "The McGranahans basically took a small house and added this very large home around it."
Photographs of the original 1840s house are displayed on the home's first floor, which is reserved for funeral business.
The home's second and third floors are a private residence and have never been open to the public.
"We thought it was the right time to open our doors and include the home on the tour because we recently finished renovating the third floor," explained Baumgardner Toth, who grew up in the home.
The third floor, which was previously attic storage space, is now a 2,500-square-foot family room with a bird's-eye view of Kinsman.
The second floor has four bedrooms, 21/2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
Key features
Some of the home's most outstanding features include a magnificent 19th-Century stained glass window from France, five fireplaces -- three with tiles imported from Italy -- and beautiful oak, cherry and maple woodwork.
The Baumgardner family acquired the McGranahan Home in 1964. Before that, it was also used as a funeral home and was operated by Robert McLain and later Levirre McCurdy.
Tour-goers interested in learning more about the life and times of McGranahan can visit the Kinsman Public Library at 6420 Church St. the day of the tour where McGranahan-related material will be displayed in the library's Local History Room.
Besides the McGranahan Home, three other historical dwellings will be a part of this year's tour: the Stagecoach Inn on the square (also known as the Colonial Tea Room); the Dr. Robert Brackin House; and The Dream Horse Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast.
The circa-1833 post-and-beam Stagecoach Inn was recently renovated by township resident Richard Thompson.
Included in the project
That renovation process included gutting the 7,000-square-foot building, installing new wiring and plumbing and adding some handsome finishing touches to the exterior of the premises, such as fancy wrought iron handrails and charming lampposts.
Thompson, who bought the home in 2002 when it was in need of repairs, said he wanted to save it because of its historical significance.
The property has been tastefully divided into two apartments and three offices.
A stone's throw from the old Stagecoach Inn is the Dr. Robert Brackin House at 8237 State Street. This quaint home was completed in 1851 and is an example of Greek revival architecture. The home's oversize windows and stately columns create grandeur on a small scale.
Dr. Brackin, a graduate of medical school in Cincinnati, bought the home in 1855, and he and his wife, Wealthy Ann, raised four children there. The home is for sale.
Located at 9532 State Route 7, a few miles north of Kinsman center, is the Dream Horse Guesthouse. This four-story 1920s barn has been reinvented as a charming bed and breakfast.
With gingerbread trim, picturesque views of farmland and a gift shop, the spacious post-and-beam residence offers an eclectic mix of rustic elegance.
Also on the tour
For those who prefer new homes to old ones, this year's tour also includes the Kress Family Home at 6262 State Route 87.
Built in 2000, this beautifully decorated home sits on property that has been in Kress family for three generations.
This year's tour also features one of Kinsman's newest businesses, the Stratton Creek Wood Works, which is housed in Kinsman's former Kraft Plant.
Established in January, Stratton Creek prides itself on being a multidimensional woodworking company producing everything from custom moldings, to cabinet doors, to dovetailed drawers and elaborate architectural millwork.
Stratton Creek visitors will learn more about what's involved in manufacturing handcrafted furniture.
In conjunction with this year's tour, a craft show will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the home of Monica Karr at 6526 Kinsman-Nickerson Road. Karr will offer primitive, fall and Christmas crafts for sale.
Tour tickets cost $8 per person and can be obtained at St. Patrick's Church at 6367 State Route 87 the day of the event. Lunch will be served at the church from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.