What do you get when you have an Antique Appraiser stay at your home?
Answer: lots more cool facts about your home!
We were thrilled to host The Antique Nomad – a YouTube star and Facebook Antique Picker/Appraisal guru in Columbia, PA while he participated in a local appraisal event that Burning Bridge Antiques sponsored as part of the DISCOVER COLUMBIA WEEK in 2022 that the local Merchants Association of Columbia organized.
George arrived really late, so after a good night’s rest, he had already picked through some cool things in the home (unbeknownst to Justin, the owner of the home, who came to give him a tour!).
The fun began when we were giving him a tour and he was adding all types of insights to what we thought we already knew!
The cool floors were done by artists in residence in 2009 – and are a mimic of the labyrinth print on the wall. The designs span throughout the main floors.
The fun part was when he was given a challenge to find the secret room.
The builder of the home, William Hougentogler, was a Civil War survivor and veteran and an architect by trade. He built homes in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Columbia. Depending when he actually built the home would determine if such a room would have been used to hide slaves heading north. If the home was built in 1876, then it’s just a great room to highlight the regional activity along the Underground Railroad as there are many verified UR homes along 2nd and 3rd street.
Given that the term ‘Underground Railroad’ itself originates to Columbia, PA when Stephen Smith (a freed black slave and 2nd richest black man in America) used his freedom to design false-bottom and false-side railcars to transport slaves safely from Columbia, PA to Philadelphia through Harrisburg… and on to a crossing point in Erie, PA – the home itself #FreedomHome exists to highlight this great role Columbia, PA played in history.
We were thrilled to host George and look forward to seeing him again soon!
If you want to book a night or two at Freedom Home, just fill out the request form to see if your dates are open, or checkout AirBnB to make an instant reservation.
