Keeping an 1880 Avalon home in the family

Buying her parents’ beach house in Avalon in 2020 was a dream come true for Alex Anastasio. The three-story house with brown shingle siding was built in 1880 and had belonged to her family for three decades.

She and her husband, Paul, love the home’s location on a peaceful street with an ocean view, but they mostly value its historical significance.

“We have always appreciated older homes, more craftsmanship, and their uniqueness,” said Paul, owner of Optima Technology Associates in Harrisburg.

Alex’s parents, Joe and Ellin Paquette, named the home “Sand Spur,” a nod to a home they previously owned in Florida.

“In the late 19th century, Sand Spur would have been considered modest sized,” said Shannon Nagle, assistant director of Collections and Technology for the Avalon Library and History Center. “Unlike more elaborate houses owned by wealthy Philadelphians, Sand Spur is more of an example of a home built for a person with a technical, white-collar job, like a surveyor, that carries prestige but not wealth. We don’t know that the house belonged to a surveyor, but it’s a good example.”

In 2017, Sand Spur was the first home recognized by the Avalon Register of Historic Places, a coordinated effort by the Avalon Borough and the Avalon History Center.

A plaque announcing the honor is attached to the wall on the home’s wraparound front porch. It is surrounded by many other original features, including a lamp that once operated with gas, the front door under a transom window, and a metal mailbox.

The Anastasios have worked continuously to learn about the home’s history and those who lived there before.

While they don’t know who built or first lived in the house, the couple had a lucky discovery during the pandemic. A descendant of the Weintraub family, who lived in the home circa 1910, presented a photo album to the history center with a wealth of information about the family and house.

The pictures showed sisters Sarah Louise, Helen, and Georgine Weintraub on the beach, boating, or enjoying other outdoor activities. Pictures, news clips, and family letters suggested the sister’s involvement in the earliest women’s rights movement.

The elder two sisters were born in Syria in 1861 and 1871 to Christian missionaries. The family returned to the United States in 1874 and settled in Philadelphia. Three more siblings, Georgine, Wistar, and Paul, were born in the 1870s.

Interested in medicine and women’s health, Sarah Louise studied to be a doctor, graduating from Philadelphia’s Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1882. She practiced medicine at the women’s department of the Philadelphia County Prison, in the city’s judicial system, and later went into private practice. Georgine taught in the Philadelphia County School System.

“When I learned about the Weintraub family, I realized that was the name on the trunk in the attic,” Alex recalled. “My brother thinks that was Paul Weintraub’s military trunk.” Alex has since donated the trunk to the history center.

Another note appearing on their door during the pandemic shed light on another family occupying the home. Written by the grandson of Ed Weithammer, the owner from the 1920s to 1960s, it shared his childhood memories in the home.

“His letter mentioned that they called the home ‘the house at the end of the boardwalk’ because at the time, the boardwalk turned, extending several blocks west, ending in front of their home,” Alex said. “He was a teacher in Upper Darby and was a pioneer in organic farming.”

The home features six bedrooms and three bathrooms and sleeps 12, perfect when the couple’s three sons, their wives, and five grandchildren come to visit.

The third-floor attic has a corner window that offers an ocean view. While the Anastasios added beds and comfortable furniture to make the room functional, it still preserves much of its 1880 roots. Vaulted ceilings feature original dark brown cedar beams extending to the floor.

The attic’s bathroom still has its original claw-foot bathtub and marble-topped sink with antique spigots and exposed pipes. Skylights above the tub bring in bright light.

The second floor includes four small bedrooms. It’s been rumored that the home may have been a brothel in the late 1800s, and that’s why there were many small rooms, Alex said.

The couple enjoy cooking in their small, but functional, kitchen. Though the stove is likely from the 1960s, the kitchen got a makeover soon after the couple bought the home. They removed the linoleum floor, refurbished the cabinet doors, and replaced the counters, sink, tile, and trim.

When renovating the kitchen, they saved the original doors. One was repurposed into a stylish barn door that covers the utility room, and the others were made into bed headboards.

The home’s decor is an eclectic mix of historic pieces and beachy furniture. Alex’s mom’s passion was shopping thrift stores along Route 9 for “shabby chic” decor.

“She had so much fun and it was real cute,” recalled Alex. “I have a lot of things still here.”

The family’s favorite spot to hang out is the huge wraparound porch. They enjoy the delightful breezes and socializing with neighbors who walk by to chat.

Many of the home’s original details also remain inside, including the heart pine floors, and hand-carved heart pine woodwork. The dining table has a label showing it was made in 1914, and antique kitchen utensils also remain.

In 1995, contractor Bob Penrose replaced the home’s pilings with a sturdy foundation. He built a breakfast room addition, added a laundry room, and made other repairs to keep the house stable “for the next century,” Alex said.

Paul enjoys doing some of the less involved handiwork to keep the house in shape. In 2021, the couple ripped out all of the carpeting and restored the original heart pine floor. They have a lot of projects on the to-do list, wanting to keep the home true to its history while making it a comfortable, livable beach house.

“We are married 40 years, and our first summer together we spent time in Avalon,” recalled Alex, who lives in Camp Hill with Paul when not at the Shore. “We fell in love with the town together, and our dream came true when we could afford the house and cherish the family memories of our children coming here when they were very young.”