By Steve Huffman
shuffman@salisburypost.com
SPENCER ó Reid Walters talks a good game when it comes to describing the historic house he bought in the 500 block of Fourth Street in Spencer.
The house is big and beautiful, and returning it to its former glory was a labor of love, he insisted.
But Walters’ girlfriend, Lauren Raper, recalls the restoration process in slightly different terms. She was living in Raleigh when most of the work was taking place and talked to Walters by phone almost every night.
“He’d call and say, ‘I’m sick of this house!’ ” Raper said. “He’d say, ‘I’m going to sell it!’ ”
Both Walters and Raper laugh now as she relates the story of the historic home’s restoration. Finishing a fairly massive undertaking takes a lot of pressure off everyone involved, and the end result justified the hassles it took in getting there.
Walters, 34, is a history teacher at East Rowan High School. Raper, 26, teaches social studies at the school.
Walters ó a graduate of Western Carolina University ó was recruited about five years ago to teach in the Rowan-Salisbury School System. In the years since, he and his father, Ken, have bought and refurbished several houses in Spencer.
The house on Fifth Street, however, was one that Reid purchased on his own. He spotted it when he and Raper were driving around town last fall.
The house had been foreclosed upon and had a “For sale” sign staked in its front yard. Walters took a look at the property and figured there was plenty of potential.
“It was neglected, but the shell of the house was in pretty good shape,” he said. “I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into.”
Walters got it for the bargain price of $45,000, all the more a steal when it’s remembered that the house includes five bedrooms, two bathrooms and measures 3,000 square feet. He figures he’s put another $45,000 into the project, but said the money was well spent.
Those wanting a look inside can do so come December when the house is featured on Spencer’s Christmas Tour of Homes.
Walters had three workers ó Jimmy and Brian Allen and Red Moore ó all of Johnston County who helped him with the project. The trio work for Walters’ father on a regular basis.
Though Walters bought the house last December and began gutting the interior shortly after the first of the new year, the work didn’t kick into high gear until May. By the end of July, most of the restoration was finished.
Hardwood floors were stripped and refinished. Kitchen cabinets were removed and replaced. Mantelpieces and fireplaces were reworked and restored. A large deck on the back of the house was saved.
Walters describes the design of the house as either colonial or federal. He’s done a fair amount of research into the history of the house and plans to do more.
His house, Walters said, was built between 1905 and 1907. A Gosney family lived in the residence for about 20 years. At one point ó during the ’20s and ’30s ó the property was used as a boarding house for young married couples.
Walters said that in the early 1900s the superintendent of Spencer Shops may have lived in the house, though it’s going to take him a bit more detective work before that’s determined for sure. He’s researching the residence through the main branch of the Rowan County Public Library in Salisbury.
Walters is an interesting sort, even outside his love of restoring old houses. Over the years he has worked for both the California and Pennsylvania state parks and was once employed as a cab driver in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Walters also at one point loaded and unloaded train cars for the Union Pacific Railroad.
“Just being young and crazy,” he said of those former work endeavors.