In 1883, Dr. C. E. Belt envisioned an English style cottage at the corner of Market and Broadway streets in Batavia. His dream became a reality and according to a mechanical drawing and article in The Clermont Sun on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1887, the outward appearance of the home was peculiar to the area.

According to historical records, there were no nails used in the construction of the home. The builders were George Wolf and his brother, who later lived in the home. The home was also owned by the Elmer Kramer family at one time.

The home has undergone several changes through the years but the initial character of the home remains.

It was purchased in 1997 by Linda Walvoord, an English professor at Clermont UC.

She said that in 2001 she had the fading siding removed and after a few minor repairs, she had the house painted.

“I wasn’t really sure what I would find under the siding, but the wood was in very good shape and there weren’t as many coats of paint on it as I expected. I had a few minor repairs made and then I had the home painted grey five or six years ago. The paint didn’t seem to adhere like it should,” said Walvoord. “It needed to be painted again and I knew that I wanted to go with a color which would have been used when the home was built. I searched through books and magazines for the right color and picked out a home color that I liked.”

For the yellow accent color, Walvoord said she mixed colors until she got the shade that she felt was right and had the color matched at a hardware store.

Walvoord said that she has spent most of her time working on the interior of the house and had not had time to work on the landscaping.

“The landscaping had become overgrown,” said Walvoord. “I have been getting it under control and I think that played a part in getting this award. I was just so excited when I found out that I received this property improvement award.