Built in 1832, the house at the corner of Upland Road and Route 123, or Sharon Road, in Peterborough, is full of surprises.
The farmhouse, which for more than two decades was known as the Applegate Inn Bed and Breakfast, has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and four working fireplaces, as well as two wood stoves.
The home, which sits on over two acres, is unusual in many ways.
“The house is really kind of a maze,” said Liz Warner, who lived in the family home for several years. “It can be configured in many different ways by closing doors to the different sections. It’s actually been used several different ways by various residents. When it was a B&B, every bedroom had its own bathroom because the rooms were all rented separately. One tenant set it up so two adult children could live here and close the doors and kind of have their own sections of the house. It’s very flexible and has a ton of options.”
The property, set on over two acres, includes a barn which could have two accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. The downstairs studio apartment has a private back patio overlooking the lawn and woods, while the upper level is used as an art studio.
The house abuts farmland still owned by the Morison family, whose members are descended from the founders of Peterborough. The house is also known as the McCoy house, but little recorded history of the property exists. A nearby road in Sharon is named for the McCoy family, but Warner has not been able to learn much else.
The house has two driveways, one on Sharon Road and one on Upland Road, as well as a two-car garage.
“We assume this house had something to do with the Morisons or that they were maybe related, since it is surrounded by Morison land, but no one seems to know,” Warner said.
The previous owners, Barbara and Ken Legenhausen, called the property the Applegate Inn in honor of the Morison apple orchards stretching down Upland Road toward Upland Farm.
“Some of the rooms still have their little signs from the inn; each room was named after a different apple,” Warner said.
Warner and her mother Beverly Blythe, who has managed the property for long and short-term rentals, credit the Legenhausens with painstakingly maintaining the home, and Barbara Legenhausen, in particular, with creating the gardens.
“Barbara absolutely loved running the Applegate Inn. It was really her passion, and the house was just meticulously cared for,” Warner said. “She was an incredible gardener, and she put in mostly perennials, which are mostly still here.”
Warner and Blythe completely updated the interior design of the home, including a full renovation of the kitchen.
“We kind of brought the interior from the traditional country style, with the doilies and antiques, to more contemporary,” Warner said.
The house has original-growth white pine floorboards, tiny brick bedroom fireplaces, which were the style in 1830, and many built-in features such as window seats and bookshelves.
The dining room has original exposed beams and a built-in corner cabinet.
“It is a wonderful house for entertaining, gathering the family, having an event,” Warner said. “Our family used the fireplaces every time we got together.”
Blythe, who had been living in London for many decades before moving to the house on Upland Road, says she fell in love with the Peterborough area and bought the house to have a place for her far-flung family to gather.
“I’ve always been a city person, but coming here was not as much of an adjustment as I thought,” Blythe said. “I love the beauty here, I love the house, I love Peterborough. The only thing I really miss is the ease of transport; how easy it was to get around in London.”
Blythe admits she doesn’t love ice and snow, and spends much of the winters visiting family in warm places.
Besides the fully renovated kitchen, the downstairs includes a family room, library and study. While much of the original woodwork remained when they bought the house, the family added paneling, wainscoting and trim hand-carved by the late master craftsman David Bridgewater, to match the Colonial style. David’s wife, the late Hilda Bridgewater, was the Warners’ real estate agent.
“David did all the woodwork in the downstairs and in several of the upstairs rooms as well,” Warner said. “He was here for months and his work was just exquisite, and we loved having him around. He was such a delight.”
Upstairs, the bedrooms on the south side overlook the former Morison apple orchard, which was taken out of production in the last 10 years.
“We thought we would miss looking at the apple trees but they were pretty much all dead and kind of a tangled mess,” Warner said.
“When they took the trees out, it was actually a lot prettier,” Blythe said. “Now we look out over an open field. Really, everywhere you look it’s just beautiful.”
199 Upland Road is now on the market for the next family or business opportunity. For information or for a tour, contact Liz Warner at liz.warner@petronere.com or visit primemls.com/listings/NH/Peterborough/03458/199-Upland-Farm/5056953.