History of the old Stone Wallace House

1. Wallace House is situated on a five-acre plot overlooking Hunter Lane in Murrysville, PA. It is surrounded by a 51-acre nature reserve. Both properties were sub-divided from a 154-acre farm purchased by David Wallace in 1833. There is no evidence of later development on either parcel, only the natural process of reversion from farmland to woodland.

2. Wallace House is a two-story Pennsylvania stone-farm house that is one room deep and two rooms wide. On one gable is a signature stone inscribed "D.W. 1854."

The structure is built on a slope that places one long side of the basement at grade level. Originally there were two doors and two windows at the basement level. One of the window openings is closed in and one of the door openings was converted into a window. At the second story floor level is a tar mark extending nearly the length of the building suggesting a pent roof or more likely a porch roof. Apparent too is the outline of an enclosure around the south entrance door on the first floor dating from a later time judging by the relative discoloration of the stone. Currently this door opens on to a sun deck of recent construction. Particularly striking is the identical treatment of the entrance doors to the first floor. On either side of the doorjambs are sidelights reaching from the top of the door lintel to window-sill level. This feature enhances the importance of the doors and it emits light into the interior of the building, a refinement unexpected in an essentially utilitarian structure.

3. Exposed chestnut beams and stone fireplaces at either end of the building reveal the original structure as do the entrance doors to the first floor. Since the chimneys are built inside of the end walls, the fireplaces and chimneys protrude into the interior. However, the natural state of these surfaces is not visible since everything is largely framed in on the first and second floors. In contrast everything in the basement is exposed. Judging by the size of the fireplace opening on the east wall and its proximity to stairs (since removed) leading to the first floor this area appears to have been the original kitchen.

4. Adjacent to the house is the original spring house that continues to supply water to the main house. It is situated at about the same elevation as the basement, which would have facilitated transportation of water to a basement kitchen.

5. In the 1970's a two-story wooden extension was added to one end of the stone house. Since the wooden extension is subordinate to the stone house, it does not detract significantly from the essential upright character of a Pennsylvania stone-farm house. In 1995 vinyl windows replaced double-hung single pane windows and new chestnut flooring was laid over the original pine planks on the first floor. The window shutters are contemporary, as is the enclosure around the north entrance door. The least modified part of the house is the basement kitchen area. The original fireplace is well preserved as are the ceiling beams and the stone walls. Together they define the mid- nineteenth character of this house.

In 1833 David Wallace, a farmer, purchased 154.36 acres (plus a 6% allowance for roads) from James Nesbit. David and Margaret Wallace had six children: William, Margaret Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, John and Martha. In 1854 David had a two-story stone house built on his farm by Samuel Hilty. Upon David Wallace's death in 1872, his estate was distributed according to his will of January 19, 1869. William inherited 57.88 acres on the southwest corner and John got 49.31 acres on the northwest part of the farm. Margaret Jane, Elizabeth and Mary were to share equally in the remaining 56.27 acres including the stone house, barn and other out buildings. However, Mary died intestate and unmarried. It was agreed that William, John and Martha (now Martha Ludwig) would each receive 6 acres and that Margaret Jane and Elizabeth would have the remaining 38.27 acres including the stone house, barn and other out buildings. The census of 1880 shows that Margaret Jane, Elizabeth and John were living in the stone house. In 1888 Elizabeth sold her half interest in the 38.27 acres to her sister, Margaret Jane. John W. and Margaret Jane Wallace sold their combined holdings of 92.23 acres (93.58 less 1.35 sold to George W. Long) to George M. Evans in 1910. Adelaide Hunter acquired this acreage from George Evans through a sheriff sale in 1938. The story goes that Adelaide became so attached to the property that she threatened a curse on anyone who would permit "her" land to be subdivided. Adelaide died in 1962. Her executrix, Margaret Vance, sold the property to David and Margaret Green in 1967. Despite the curse the property was subdivided and subsequent occupants have kept the story of Adelaid's ghost alive. The Green's sold Wallace House to Sidney G. and Betty Caslake in 1971 who sold it to Owen T. and Andrea Anderson in 1988, who then sold it to the present owner, Eloy Cancino, in 1995.

The Wallace Family was among the early settlers of the region. David Wallace appears to have accumulated wealth slowly but steadily. He married at 35, bought a farm at 40 and built a substantial stone house on it when he was 61, undoubtedly the mark of a successful farmer. In his will of 1869, David Wallace refers to his stone house as a "mansion." David's name appears on the tax roles through 1871. Beginning in 1872 and extending through 1910 William, John W. and Margaret Jane names are listed. No Wallaces were listed in the tax records of 1911.

Stone-farm houses are comparatively rare in southwestern Pennsylvania. There are only two examples standing in Murrysville that covers 37 square miles. Alterations have hurt the integrity of Wallace House but is has survived in good condition structurally because it has enjoyed continuous occupancy during most of its life. The names associated with the Wallace House live on today as Wallace Lane, Hunter Lane and Hilty Road. Contributing to its livability is an early gas well that is still producing. It reaches back to the time at the end of the nineteenth century when natural gas resources were being developed. Murrysville became the site of the first commercial natural gas field in the United States.

The Wallace family lived during a period of agricultural prosperity in southwestern Pennsylvania in the mid-nineteenth century. The growth of industry in the Pittsburgh area and better access to new markets via the Pennsylvania Canal and later the railroads created demand for food. The Wallaces and many farm families like them survived and prospered during these times. However, with continuing improvements in transportation, many crops could be grown more economically in the mid-west than they could be produced locally. Wallace House is worth preserving as an example of what farmers with small holdings could achieve in southwestern Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century.