Home sweet historical home

COMMERCE, Mo. -- The walls inside the home at 133 Washington St. in Commerce practically talk.

Together with each scrape on the floorboards, each piece of old furniture and each layer of ceiling, they tell the history of not just a building, but of a family.

The Great Depression. Tuberculosis. Holidays. Deaths. Births.

Sue Bailey held up a family photograph on display in her 100-year-old home's entryway in Commerce.

The history of the home brought Sue Bailey from St. Louis to this nearly extinct rivertown of just 100 or so people. The history of the home coincides with her own history, and now Bailey is trying to get the home the historical respect it deserves.

In 1902, the Anderson family -- Sue Bailey's great-great-grandparents -- finished construction of the two-story white Victorian. Photos from about that the home hasn't changed much structurally in 103 years. The large wraparound porch and interior wood work are still very much intact, thanks mostly to financial struggles during the Depression.

In fact, when Sue Bailey and husband Bill moved in 2003, even the original carpet was still covering the floor.

Beneath that carpet, the Baileys found what would become one of many surprises on their route remodeling the home: straw and quilt batting.

The ceiling consisted of wallpaper laid over muslin. The walls themselves were plaster.

"A lot of people say, 'Oh you're remodeling, it will be great'" said Susan Bailey. "We're quick to say, it's not remodeling it's restoration."

In the home's early days, it was no doubt a jewel along the banks of the Mississippi River. The Andersons owned a general store in Commerce and business flourished. Then came the economy crash during the 1930s, followed by the death of several family members from tuberculosis.

"After that, it basically became just another farm house," said Sue Bailey.

It was empty for about 10 years during the 1930s, then Bailey's aunt and uncle came to live in it, using just the first floor until the 1970s. After 1973, it was again vacant, with Sue Bailey's parents traveling from St. Louis on weekends to maintain the property.

"They were very faithful, which is incredible for the home. Nothing changed," said Bailey.

Not until Bailey and her husband moved in during December of 2003 with the intention of completely restoring the house.

After two years of work, the Baileys are just beginning to make a dent. They're working around much of the original furniture, which never the left the home. The residence still contains some of the personal effects of Bailey's aunt and uncle.

Later this month, the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will consider the property's nomination to the National Register for Historic Places.

For now, the Baileys only live in a few rooms while the others are being restored. There are four bedrooms upstairs along with a nonworking bathroom and a maid's room. Downstairs, there's a grand entry room, sitting room, living room, dining room, spare bedroom, remodeled bathroom and a kitchen.

There are sales receipts from the early 1900s, old magazines and black-and-white photographs from the home's early days. Using all of those resources, newspaper clippings and her grandmother's diary, Bailey pieced the home's history together for the National Register of Historic Places nomination.

"Everyday, we learn something new," she said.

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128