1880s Photo of the Sublett-Miller House
Since this is a new blog, it makes sense to explain how it is that a Corporate Attorney and a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Falls Church Virginia happened to have spent the last decade of their lives restoring an 1874 victorian in Danville Virginia. First of all, I will plead ignorance. After spending many years improving the state of our solid stone 1945 cape cod house, we began looking around for a bigger challenge and decided it would be “fun” to restore an even older house. I wanted a brooding brick facade with a spooky feel — something masculine. No gingerbread and clapboard fancy would suit my style. He wanted something on a large scale. Looking around at homes within an hour of the DC metro area, we found nothing to our liking.
One afternoon he slips an ad from Preservation magazine under my nose, and I immediately reacted with excitement — there was my dream house in an auction advertisement. But where was Danville Virginia, and how could we manage to afford a house on “Millionaire’s Row”. A four-hour drive later and all was revealed. The sleepy South was no longer the center of industry and wealth it had once been when Tobacco and Cotton were king. Millionaire’s Row was an amazing collection of Main Street homes that had once been build by tobbaconists, merchants, doctors and lawyers, now affordable to the mainstream in today’s world.
April 2000 photo of the Sublett-Miller House
We stood on the front lawn of that house and bought it at auction and were quickly plunged into the politics, underhanded dealings, backdoor deals and good-old-boy network that is Danville. As our high bid stood and the auctioneer’s hammer fell, and as our new neighbors whisked us off to a victory luncheon along with four other new homeowners who had bought the four identical row houses behind us, in the midst of the celebrations, congratulations, comeraderie and exultation, word came down that the auctioneer had accepted a “sealed bid” entered after the auction by the bank owner’s daughter’s fiancee for $1000 higher than our high bid. “Our” house had just been re-sold despite the contract created by the fall of the hammer.
Okay, so any “normal” couple would have walked away, but here is where I plead insanity…Our knight in shining armor in the person of one Robert L. Morrison, one of the new row house homeowners and a local attorney, approached us incensed with the situation and offered to march down to the bank offices Monday morning and set them straight on the laws of fiduciary duties, auctions, contracts and other such stuff and other legal jargon. And he offered to do it for free. Let’s just say that the rest is history, we have our house, a best friend and neighbor for life, and the best little community that ever was, despite the “powers that be” who occasionally threaten our happiness.
The beginning, much like the middle, and I predict into the future, is a story of the wonderful people in this community trying hard to find a little piece of contentment, to make a difference, to achieve and create something in peace. Peace threatened and occasionally shattered by blind community leadership, corruption and incompetence. We ultimately band together for strength in numbers and in passions which link our bonds ever stronger and tighter. Through conflict we have forged friendships that will last a lifetime, and this was the first such encounter.
Carla Minosh
While I am new to Blogging, I have always enjoyed sharing the stories of my crazy life, so this is simply another medium to share, and hopefully entertain and enrich others. Perhaps you can feel thankful that your life is so steady and predictable after reading these, perhaps you can appreciate the insanity and wish you had more of it in your life. Either way, the crazy tales are all true (to the best of my spotty recollection) and simply tell the tale of a life full of exploration, enthusiasm, curiosity and hard work. I hope you all enjoy being a part of the journey.
Robert L. Morrison is my newest favorite person on Earth!
He saved the day!!!!!!!
Quite a nice blog you have here. I am going through it as we are looking at several locations including millionaires row to move to. I have found one house for sale on the internet. Do you know any realtor who specializes in that area. Thanks, John
Susan Stilwell from Manasco Realty 434 792-3000. She knows the historic district better than anyone.
Thank you!