Tree Streets Historic District
704 Chestnut Ave
William A. Rife House, Ca. 1910
FrameContributes to the historic character of the district
Did you know?Waynesboro and Basic City became one town in 1923
From the National Register nomination
Two-story frame Victorian house with asbestos-shingle siding and an asphalt-shingled gable roof with a two-story gabled front wing. The one-story front porch has turned posts, vasiform sawn balusters (identical in pattern to those of 668 Chestnut's ell porch), and sawn brackets. The front section has a parged stone foundation; a two-story ell has a brick foundation. Other features include an interior brick chimney, an exterior stair to a rear apartment entry, and 2/2 windows. Cinder-block and railroad tie retaining walls define the yard, and the house adjoins a modern Texaco station on Rife Road. William Alexander Rife (1848-1926) was a partner with his father-in-law George Schoppert in the construction of a foundry on the South River near this house about 1880. In 1884 Rife developed a hydraulic ram that formed the mainstay of the Rife Ram & Pump Works, one of Waynesboro' s leading industries. Rife's widow lived in the house through 1935.
Information supplied by Hawke, History of Waynesboro, 140-142.
Date based on Sanborn fire-insurance maps.
People
- William Alexander Rife owner in 1848 (1926)
- George Schoppert owner in 1848 (1926)
Memories
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