Fam History: Calhoun Family Home , Lincoln Parish, Louisiana Submitted by: Dorothy Rinehart Taylor, 111 Racove Drive, West Monroe, LA 71291 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Piney Hills Country Magazine - 1989 page 11 CALHOUN family home restored for the future Calhoun Farmhouse is located five miles northeast of Ruston on La. 821, also known as Douglas Road. Built in 1880 for young Mr. and Mrs. John Duncan Calhoun probably by her parents the site was locatcd beside the old Claiborne Road which was part of the stage coach route between Monroe and Shreveport. Mrs. Calhoun was born Emma Stow, a great-granddaughter of John Stow, the first permanent settler in what is now Lincoln Parish. The house has been in the Calhoun family continuously; it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, being the second building in Lincoln Parish (after the Autrev house) to be so honored. Restoration of the farmhouse has been carried out by Colonel and Mrs. John D. Calhoun, the current owners. Colonel Calhoun is the grandson of John and Emma Calhoun, the original owners. Restoration of the exterior of the house was completed in 1988 and has been approved by the National Park Service and the Louisiana Office of Preservation. Restoration of the interior of the house is not yet complete but should be finished in 1989. Although not open to the public at this time, the Calhoun Farmhouse is accessible for viewing by visitors who mav wish to stop and "look it over," take photographs or make sketches. It can be reached by driving northeast from Ruston on La. 33, then turning right to drive 1.9 miles east on La. 821. Special arrangements for a closer look can be made through the Lincoln Tourist Bureau. The farmbouse has been described by architectural historian Goodloe Stuck of Shreveport as Folk Victorian or Vernacular Victorian. Stuck, who first pointed out to the Calhouns that the house was worthy of preservation, provided the description that was used in the application for inclusion of the National Register. He wrote: "The form of the house, with its forward facing gable at one end of the long front gallery is typical of Queen Anne cottages of the late nineteenth century. Yet the millwork shows a transition from the Classical Revival to the late Victorian. "The assymetrical floor Plan is a composite of three symmetrical two-room units, each with a central chimney and back-to-back fireplaces in the manner of the folk "saddlebag." Circulation is through a short entrance hall and an L-shaped rear gallery. "Both front gallery and entrance doorway are richly with intricate open fretwork, delicate dentil courses, shaped transom and sidelights and panels framed by deep composite moldings. The tall eight-light double-hung sashes reach to the foor and have shutters with movable louvres. The builder of the house is unknown; there is strong evidence that the house was a wedding present to Emma Calhoun from her mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. L.E. McGee, whose homeplace was one-half mile to the east. The farmhouse was the headquarters for the extensive farming operations of John D. Calhoun and after Mr. MeGee's death in 1883, of the McGee plantations as well. John Calhoun's farming and overseeing included about 2,000 acres by the turn of the century. Restoration was begun in 1984 and has proceeded slowly with many intervals to allow more research and learning by Col. and Mrs. Calhoun who had not attempted this type of work before. Unsuitable additions and remodeling had to be removed; and many features that had been lost had to be rebuilt to match, as nearly as possible the originals. Note: Piney Hills Country Magazine - is a Special Section that appears in the Ruston Daily Leader.