April 27, 2021 – Myra, WI – Part 2 of a 3-part series touring the inside of 1210 Decorah Road in the unincorporated hamlet of Myra. Below is a walk through with contractor Jerry Zelenka of Breezen Properties. He also contributed the article describing some of the unique features in the home.
The familiar white house at 1210 on the corner of Decorah and Jay Road is undergoing a major renovation. A floor jack is pushing up ceilings, walls are being made plumb, and treasures have been uncovered on the second floor of the family home that locals say was previously home to a stagecoach stop and Post Office.
Zelenka said the original steep stairway was across the room. He points to the outline of a staircase on the far wall. The stairs were later moved just south of the oil burner.
On a west wall on the second floor, buried under lattice and plaster two crayon drawings were discovered on the second floor. In the left corner of a drawing of a smiling cat with whiskers is the name Kevin written faintly in pencil.
Next to it on crinkled brown water-stained paper is a pencil drawing of a yellow rooster with a red crown.
The home in Myra traces to about 170 years old and once housed a family of nine.
Upstairs Zelenka points to notches and cuts in beams that are not being used, which means they were used elsewhere. “These beams came from a different building and then they reassembled them in here,” he said.
The construction is post and beam (think old barn) with lumber which appears to have been salvaged from an even older building, if that is possible.
The floor in the building is original hardwood maple which will be sanded and restored.
Coming up tomorrow the third and final segment as Zelenka analyzes the history of the lower level of the historic home.
Click HERE to view Part 1 of the former stagecoach stop in Myra.
Thank you for sharing this. It was fascinating!