Rose Smith heaped a lot of love on her Havertown 1860 farmhouse, nearly a half-century worth, writes Paul Jablow for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

She lived there with her husband, Ken, and then alone as a widow, until the retired social worker had to move to a senior residence.  She worried about the house and that a developer would raze it.

“The house was their child,” said her friend Janet McFeeley.

They wanted a buyer who would keep her home as it was and “love it as she did.”

Along came Rob D’Alessio and Dana Hill who did end up falling in love with the house back in the spring of 2020.

They liked the home’s history and character.

“I collect vintage and antique pieces, but this was by far the biggest antique ‘piece’ I ever purchased,” said Hill.

Smith had assembled a scrapbook about the house, which was turned over to the couple. Her husband’s painting of the original house is now in the dining room.

The goal of the couple was to keep the outside of the house as original as possible while updating the interior.  

The work began to restore and renovate the house.

Read more about this historic farmhouse renovation in Havertown in The Philadelphia Inquirer.