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The Bunk House Progress!

2011-07-19T19:49:38Z

These distinctive quarters are unlike any you have or may ever have the opportunity to experience. Set in the pastoral farmlands of north-central Ohio near Cedar Point it is only a stone’s throw away from a multitude of Lake Erie and surrounding area attractions and festivals.

From the moment you park under the wide-berthed norway maple tree and stroll back to the red-washed barn-sided bunkhouse you will know, “This is special”. After stepping up on the 20-foot long, reclaimed tin-roofed porch with its wooden horse stall railings you will then enter another era when passing through its original swinging barn door. The bunkhouse interior will further coax you back to a more serene, bucolic and peaceful time of our countries origins. It is replete with hand-hewn beams, wide plank shiplap flooring and other native materials. Primitive style furnishings such as an antique pie safe, dry sink, flour bin, cross-buck farm table, cast iron wood stove, walnut wall cupboard and other original pieces of bygone days beckon you to “rest your spirit”. The decor is gentle, unhurried, unassuming and discretely tasteful giving one a sense of quiet and calm harmony.

Outside again you may choose to use the over-sized hot tub, old world style pergola with stocked wood and fire pit or merely kick back and enjoy an evening under the stars around the campfire area outside your doorway. Once you have experienced the unrivaled charms and exclusive ambiance of our bunkhouse living…you’ll be glad you took the opportunity to break away from all other forms of conventional establishments.

What is a Guest House?

2011-03-24T23:09:00Z

Feel "home away from home" on your next vacation”

Many Americans are not yet familiar with the term “guesthouse”. This article will attempt to convey what a guesthouse is and is not and why you should seriously consider utilizing them in your travel plans. Guesthouses are a well-known and very popular form of lodging in Europe, Japan, Africa and elsewhere and have been in use for many decades. That popularity demonstrates the convenience, comfort and affordability of this type of lodging.

A typical guesthouse is a privately owned, single-family residence, which in part or whole, has been converted into living quarters for travelers. The owners quite often live on-site but in separate and also private quarters. They are in that respect similar to an inn, hostel, lodge or bed and breakfast. The primary difference between those types of lodging and a guesthouse is that guests are not provided with prepared meals. They are, however, provided with well-stocked kitchens equipped with all the necessary items by which to prepare and serve their own meals short of the food itself. One obvious advantage to that scenario is an unlimited choice of meals to suit your taste. Other very important benefits are you are not subjected to set times of eating, having to eat with strangers and your clothing may be whatever you feel comfortable with at any moment. Therefore if you want to get up in the middle of the night in your pajamas and munch on some of your favorite goodies… you can! If your morning routine calls for coffee and toast at 4:30 am…you can! If you would like to raid your refrigerator and eat on the couch while watching television…you can! (Of course you may also dine out or have something delivered.) There are no rules, schedules or pressure. As the guest you come, go and do whatever and whenever you desire. It is in affect your very own home away from home. A guesthouse also affords you with a living room, bedroom, dining room, private bath, bedding and linens. Now you too can begin to see why this form of lodging is so very popular around the world.

With that explanation in mind we would like to invite you to stay with us at our ca.1842, country guesthouse here in north central Ohio just outside of Bellevue. It is named the Harpster-Davenport Guest House. For a complete explanation and viewing of our guest house’s amenities, rates, advantages and location you will want to visit our website www.harpsterdavenportguesthouse.com.

Your hosts, Paul and Janell Davenport look forward to seeing you!

How It All Began in the 1820's

2011-03-24T21:11:00Z

Harpster-Davenport House

The story of the

Later the territory north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River was to be sold via land patents issued by the United States federal government, then know as the Confederate Congress. This was accomplished via the passage of “The Land Ordinance of 1785”. The U.S. government surveyed this new massive area and each of the smaller pieces, known as townships, were further sub-divided into 320-acre parcels called sections. These sections were sold to the public at the sum of $1.00 per acre. Once sold the new owner was given a paper document proving payment and ownership, which was called a land, patent. This land patent was typically hand-signed by the president of the United States. On April 24^th, 1820 Mr. Samuel Sparrow bought a one-quarter section or eighty acres of which this home now sits upon. Over time further land sales continued to various owners until these grounds finally came into the possession of Mr. David Harpster. He, like so many immigrants to the Ohio Lands, came here from Pennsylvania. He was accompanied by his mother and two brothers.

Our research indicates this home, a Greek Revival, was built ca. 1842 by David Harpster and his two brothers Jacob and John. David’s brothers also built homes, which still exist today and are within eye site across the fields to the northwest and northeast. Today, most all the original family members are buried in a cemetery three miles south of here and adjacent to the Seneca Caverns.

One of the interesting stories about the Harpsters is that the three brothers and one other local gentleman began a small in-home church service, which rotated in turn from one home to the next. Over scores of years it eventually became the Bellevue.

Another piece of historical information is that this home was one of only a few to be depicted in the 1893 Sandusky County Atlas. These renderings were of a type called steel engravings. In the engraving you can see Mr. and Mrs. Harpster outdoors. She is waving “good-bye” to a female friend of hers as the friend travels down the road aboard a horse-drawn carriage. Mr. Harpster is seen walking back north to the big barn to attend to more chores. It would appear they had all just finished eating lunch and catching up on the latest local news together.

In 2006 we began our quest to find a home for the two of us. On a whim, we decided to come to Bellevue to see what later would become our home. This home. After walking through and around it we headed to our, then present, home in Norwalk. That evening and the following day we discussed what we had seen, heard and felt at the old brick farm house in Bellevue. The more we talked the more we understood that ole’ place felt like home and then decided to…make an offer. To our elation it was accepted. Then the real work began! We have modified it while attempting to keep the flavor of a period home with “conveniences”.

Someone before us had turned the second floor level into an apartment. Not wanting to rent it out per say, we decided to create a unique living quarters for travelers. Hence, today, you are seeing, feeling and hearing what we did upon our first walk-through. That is namely the peace and serenity of a 168 year old farmhouse in a rural country setting in northern Ohio.

We hope you enjoy it!

Paul and Janell Davenport