Introduction
Although I don't do Lepley genealogy per se (except as it pertains to Johanna (Lepley) Korns ), the Lepley family stone house has always facinated me due to its construction and history, so I have created this web page as a service to those who are interested in Lepley Genealogy. This house was near to, and contemporaneous to, the Michael Korns. Sr. house of Southampton Township, Somerset County, PA near Wellersburg. This photo was taken by my aunt in the spring of 1999 as the house was being torn down to salvage the rock building material. Other photos of the house are included below.
What the photo tells us
As a side view of a partially demolished house, this photo doesn't do justice to the former beauty of the entire home as viewed from the road. One wonderful thing the photo does, however, is provide insight regarding the architectural history of the house. The house is built of stone, but was stuccoed over with a gray material that was probably just plain cement; note the gray color on the left end of the wall at second story height. The right two thirds of the wall is not stuccoed because a large wood-framed wing projected from the main house until circa 1999; note the outline of the peaked roof that extends all the way up to the roof of the main house. One can see that the large wing was an addition to the house, because two large rectangular second story windows were covered over by the wing. Another interesting thing to note is the remnants of a short stone wall beneath the right hand covered-over window. This wall, which would have projected at right angles from the main house, was evidently a smaller stone wing that was torn down and replaced by the larger wing. I suspect from this short wall remnant that the main house was built up to, and perhaps partially over, the end of a small stone cabin.
The interior of the house
I had the good fortune to examine the interior of this house circa 1974 with my first cousin, who lives near by, and I remember it vividly. The stone walls were about two feet thick. Going in the doorway shown here, large iron brackets projected from the interior wall so that the door could be barred from the inside with a stout plank. The doors, the deep window sills and the fireplace mantels were paneled with fine beveled-edge paneling. How such fine craftsmanship was obtained or afforded is a mystery to me. The house contained a huge central stone chimney that had fireplaces opening into each downstairs and upstairs room of the main house. The stairs, which made at least one, and perhaps several right angle turns on the way up, were located between the fireplace and the outside wall. Upstairs, in the last room you come to, brackets were again installed for barring that door from the inside. From the two sets of brackets, one is led to believe that the inhabitants were very conscious of the need to provide for in-depth self-defense measures. The interior wall surfaces were created by plastering over the the stone walls. Since the interior of the stone walls were uneven, the plaster was quite thick in spots, and reinforced with animal hair (we thought it was horse hair). Sticks projecting from the stone wall were used to guide the plasterer to achieve a level interior plaster surface. The green roof shown in this picture was installed by a former owner Mr. Burkett in the 1960's. I am guessing that he installed the roof right over the central chimney, because no projecting chimney shows in this photograph. Rodney Lee Gibbons’ Lepley website says that Adam Lepley II built the stone house on the original Lepley homestead with the help of 12 Indians. My first cousin, who owns the Alonzo Lepley farm next door, told me in the 1970's that by local tradition the stone house was built circa 1810.
Lepley gunsmiths
This farm is associated with the Lepley gunsmith(s), and a small building to the right of this photograph (not shown) is held by local tradition to have been the gunsmith shop. Circa 1969 the gun shop was being used as a corn crib; I know this because I helped my cousin Warren to repair it at that time. Page 44 of volume two of the book "Looking Back On Southampton Township, Pennsylvania - The Way It Used To Be!" has a photograph of the gunsmith shop. In 2007 my cousin confirmed that the door and windows in the photo are in the same positions as they were on the corn crib we worked on, confirming the local tradition that it was once the gun shop.
The adjacent farm was home to Lepley family members as recently as the early 1970's, and the old Lepley Family Cemetery is located there. Because of where the old cemetery is located, I wonder if both farms were at one time parts of the Lepley farm where the stone house shown here was situated. When Alonzo Lepley, the owner of the adjacent farm, died, a relative of mine bought a bucket full of interesting muzzle loading gun hardware, such as lock pieces, trigger guards, gunsmithing tools, etc. at the estate sale. There were at least two Lepley gunsmiths, because Kindig's book on muzzle loading rifles cites a tax record of a Lepley gunsmith in the late 19th century, while the November 1982 Laurel Messenger mentions Adam Lepley 1776-1853 being a Southampton Township gunsmith known for incorporating fine silver inlays in his rifles. The booklet "Gunsmiths and Gunmakers of Bedford and Somerset Counties Pennsylvania 1770-1900" by Vaughn E. Wisker lists "Lepley, Adam. 1842-50, Southampton Twp., Somerset Co." and "Lepley, Joseph. 1842-67, Southampton Twp., Somerset Co."
1975 photo of the Lepley Stone house
The above 1975 photo of the Lepley stone house is reproduced from volume one, page 87 of the 2005 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of the author. That book indicates that Adam Lepley III divided the farm among three children. This photo reminds me that there was a cool spring that was quite near, or possibly part of the house. In the general time-frame of this photo, there was always a tin cup hung outdoors at the spring, ready to provide a refreshing drink. The building on the right was the Lepley Pennsylvania long rifle gun shop, which was being used as a corn crib in the late 1960's.
The above photo was reproduced from volume two of the 2007 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of the author. The Lepley stone house can be seen in the upper left-hand corner, as it looked before it was stuccoed with cement. This photo shows that before my time, there was another house located near/down the hill from the Lepley stone house. The boy in the photo is Ray Kennell.
The above photo was reproduced from volume two of the 2007 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of the author. The Lepley stone house can be seen in the distance. According to the book, this is the "William Kennell farm in the 1920s. Formerly known as the Adam Lepley farm. Will & his family are gong for a sleigh ride.". Note the large central chimney that is visible in this photograph. Also note the addition that no longer existed at the time of the 1975 photo.
Notes from other visitors to the farm
Tom Seggie and his sister Barbara Prodan wrote to me in April, 2008 about staying on the Burkett farm as children. Both reported that the spring came out of a stone wall and into an old tub just outside the stone house, and both reported that Mr. Burkett's first name was Howard. Now that they mention it, I too remember the old bathtub. Barbara wrote "I can still taste that wonderful spring water from the tub just outside the old house. And remember well, getting in trouble with Monk (Mr. Burkett) for trying to climb the stone wall that the water came out of. Something about poisonous snakes being up there.". I have a vague memory of being warned about the snakes as well, by my cousin or Mr. Burkett.
On April 25, Tom wrote "The Mr. Burkett that you mention was Howard Burkett, who purchased the farm in the late 1950s (I think) and owned it until his death in 1974. The 1975 photo was indeed taken from the road. If you look at the base of the house on the left-hand side, you can see a small stone wall that is mostly obscured by a large bush. The spring water came from a pipe that stuck out of the wall. An old bathtub was positioned under the pipe to collect the water. The bush, which I do not recall being there the last time I saw the house, is blocking your view of the bathtub. My family visited the farm for about a week every summer during the 1960s. Living quarters at that time were the two ground-floor rooms in the small addition to the old house. Later, Howard Burkett had a new house built up the hill from the old one. In addition to the corn crib that you mention, there was an outhouse just across the road from the corn crib. Farther up the opposite side of the road from the house was a large barn and a well.".
On April 28, Tom wrote "Howard Burkett was born in Vale Summit, Maryland, which is just across the border from Somerset County (in the George’s Creek area of Allegany County ). He, like a lot of other residents of the area, left during the years after WWII to find work elsewhere. He wound up in Akron, Ohio, working for Goodyear. He bought the farm, intending to move there after he was able to save enough money. So he lived in Akron and made frequent trips to the farm. I don’t know what arrangements he had with the Lepley and Korns families, but I was under the impression that they helped take care of the place when he was away. Howard married my grandmother after my grandfather died (she was also originally from Allegany County )."
L. Dietle
May 3, 2008
Return to the Korns family genealogy home page
Lepley Cemetery Listing on the Somerset County Pennsylvania Genealogy Homepage
