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 This cupola on the Fisher home still proudly displays the original finial, which current owner Dan Fisher plans to restore.
By ELLEN MORTENSEN
Chief Assistant Editor
In the late 1800s, Broken Bow was a booming, growing railroad town. Land was at a premium when W.H. and Maggie Cline purchased lots from the Lincoln Land Company to build a home.
The Victorian style home was built soon after the railroad arrived, in August 1886. The Cline’s built the home for local druggist, Edward McComas and his wife, Clara.
Since then the house has changed hands a number of times, but the character with which it was built has remained in tact. When current owners, Dan and Anita Fisher, acquired the house in 2000, they became almost as interested in its history as the structure itself.
According to records located by the Fishers, the house remained with the McComas family until being purchased by John and Justine Wehling in 1911. Other owners during the early 1900s included F.W. Brown and wife Jane, M.S. McDuffee, and Ray and Florence Robison.
In 1946, Charles and Ernestine Mohatt bought the house and owned it until 1962, when it was sold to Ross and Roxie Mann. Just one year later, Kenneth and Dorothy Lockwood became the owners and maintained possession for the next three years.
In 1966, the house was bought by Delmer and Velma Applegarth. The couple raised their family in the home, which they owned for the next 34 years.
At one time the home served as a rooming house where high school kids who lived in the country would stay during the week while they went to school. Several area residents have shared with the Fishers memories of staying in the house during those years.
Anita says she has always admired the house, and in working with Velma at BD for a number of years had shared that with her.
“I always told her if she ever decided to sell the house to let me know,” Anita says.
When the time came for Velma to retire, she approached Anita with an option to buy the house. Anita and Dan jumped at the opportunity, viewing it as their “retirement project.”
“Anita has been collecting and saving antiques and things for this house for years,” Dan laughs.
From the beginning, the couple knew they wanted to maintain as much of the originality of the structure as possible. Most of the original woodwork remains throughout the home, along with all the original light fixtures.
“I just love the architecture of this house,” Dan says. “But I can’t imagine doing that kind of intricate work with being able to use power tools!”
The Fishers plan to add a wrap-around porch to the north and east sides of the home, and are currently having a new foundation built underneath the home. Dan plans to duplicate the architecture of the house to the new porch. The house was moved 15 feet to the south, to make room for a yard once the porch is added.
All new wood floors will be put in the house, salvaging as much of the original wood as possible. When finished, the Fishers plan to live in the house.
One of the original features of the home that has garnered a lot of attention is the tall, metal object that sits atop the cupola. While many people refer to the object as a weather vane, Dan is quick to point out the right term - finial. After the house gets its new shingles, Dan plans to have the finial coated to restore its luster and protect it from the weather.
The couple is excited about their project, and even more excited to see the finished project.
“We like old houses,” Anita explains. “We like the historical value. We could have built a house, but we would rather have an older home.”
“It is very gratifying to take an old, worn project and see what you can do with it,” Dan adds.
The Fishers plan to have the exterior work on the house completed by next summer. They don’t really have a time frame for completing the interior renovations, other than Anita’s eagerness to get moved in. In the meantime, the couple is just enjoying their retirement project. |
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