Press & News

Bayberry House bed and breakfasts bringing North End homes back to former glory

Staff photo
ELEGANCE AT BAYBERRY — The rooms at the Garrett House at 741 N. Fourth St. are decorated in the traditional Victorian style that provide a quiet and comfortable stay for visitors.

STEUBENVILLE - Visitors stepping into the Bayberry Westfall or Garrett bed and breakfast houses on North Fourth Street are literally surrounded by a traditional elegance that was once the norm for the stately homes in the city's North End.

Scott Dressel and Vance Posey recently opened their second bed and breakfast and have plans to start work this spring on a third home in the city's Historic District.

"We have had more than 150 guests from 17 states and Ireland. There have been visitors to the community as well as wedding photo opportunities. We are also preparing for a wedding rehearsal dinner here which will be a lot of fun," said Dressel.

"The Westfall House at 813 N. Fourth St. offers a quiet retreat in a Victorian-style setting while the Garrett House at 741 N. Fourth St. is refined and very comfortable," explained Dressel.

Dressel said both guest houses include a fully equipped kitchen with refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher and dishes for use during a stay.

"While most guests choose to prepare their own breakfast in the kitchen, we also provide a continental breakfast of baked goods, fruit, juice and coffee in the morning on request. Pre-shopping is also available for a small fee if you would like us to stock the kitchen with food and beverages prior to your visit," Dressel explained.

Reservations and additional information about the Bayberry House bed and breakfast homes are available at www.bayberryproperties.com or at (740) 632-2899.

"We will start working this year on the former Weir-Millsop home at 801 N. Fourth St. It will take time because of our dedication to true restoration and detail. But once that house is finished I am confident visitors will enjoy all three Bayberry House bed and breakfast establishments," said Dressel.

"It can be a step back to the elegance of the Victorian Age and a very comfortable stay in a beautiful home," declared Dressel.

Piece of the past given new life

I saw something beautiful last Friday. I tagged along for a ribbon-cutting at Bayberry Properties' new bed and breakfast, Garret House, and was reluctant to leave.

It's an amazing restoration of classic Fourth Street homes once owned by Steubenville's wealthiest citizens. This house was at the bottom of a downhill slide when Scott M. Dressel and Vance J. Posey came on the scene. They are like a two-man rescue team for Steubenville's historic North End jewels that have been hidden by the grime of decay for too long.

Garret House becomes the second of three bed and breakfast inns they plan to open.

This one is so wonderful I wanted to hide in a closet and come out when everyone was gone. The faultlessly decorated downstairs rooms invite you to curl up on a couch in front of a fire with a good book. I think others shared my inclination to do just that because we all lingered long after the ribbon-cutting.

I can't imagine anyone investing so much time and having such an abundance of talent required for this transformation. The refinished floors and the striking dark woodwork are complemented by a smart selection of paint colors and wallpaper that joins the furnishings in making this large house cozy and comfortable. There is an intimacy that makes you forget its size.

The classic good taste also reigns in the upstairs bedrooms, the great kitchen and spacious dining room. If you rent a room there, you also have the freedom of the downstairs. It makes me want to move away so I can come back and stay there.

It also made me happy to see this reflection of Steubenville's glory days given new life.

As I stood on the wraparound porch and looked down Fourth Street I thought of something I read about the days when the wives of prominent citizens rode up Fourth Street in their carriages, clad in Worth gowns and fur coats and muffs, leaving their calling cards at the mansions along the way.

I like to picture that in my mind but I don't imagine myself in a carriage. I think I might have been one of the people who used the back staircase, which is an enduring reminder of the servants required to maintain that way of life.

P.S. Scott tells me the house is open for tours at 2 p.m. most Sundays, if they don't have guests. It would be well worth the trip.

Bayberry Properties has opened a second bed and breakfast on North Fourth Street in Steubenville. Owner Scott M. Dressel and Vance J. Posey held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday and will offer an open house from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Garrett House at 741 N. Fourth St. The Garrett House is the second of three bed and breakfast inns planned by the Bayberry Properties Owners. Dressel said restoring the houses in the city's North End "help protect, save, treasure and enjoy an historical part of the community." Taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were, front, from left, Sue Hershey, president of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce; Kathy Gagin representing U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-St. Clairsville; Vance Posey of Bayberry Properties; Scott Dressel of Bayberry Properties; Mayor Domenick Mucci; and Michelle Marsella, Investor relations coordinator of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce; middle Rachel Sensel; Derek Martin of Bayberry Properties; and David Fortunato 4th Ward Councilman; and back, Alex Marshall, chairman of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Jess Looman of the Herald-Star; Joanne Styczenski of Progress Alliance; and Jody Powers and Marian Houser of the Herald-Star.

Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast opens

BAYBERRY HOUSE FOR YOU — The Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast is open for groups at 813 N. Fourth St. Guests rent the entire house, which can sleep up to eight people. The restoration of the Victorian home was led by, from left, Scott Dressel, his son, Derek Martin, and business partner, Vance J. Posey. -Paul Giannamore

POSTED: June 28, 2009

STEUBENVILLE -

After years of work, restoration of an historic North Fourth Street Victorian home has led to the opening of the Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast.

The home at 813 N. Fourth St. has been restored by Bayberry Properties, a company led by Scott Dressel and co-owner Vance J. Posey, that has been restoring properties and making them available for rent or sale around the community for a number of years.

Bayberry House is the first of three homes that Dressel is hoping to have restored into a multi-unit inn, which eventually will feature as its centerpiece the former home of David Weir son of E.T. Weir, founder of Weirton Steel Corp.

The house at 813 N. Fourth St. dates to about 1870 and is in the Italianate Victorian style, with elaborate brackets, hood moulds and crests over the windows and front door, as well as a decorative tower with a mansard roof.

The house played a prominent role in the city's history, serving as the home to several industrialists and leading citizens during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The house was the home of J.M. Freeman, owner of the terra cotta works in the city, in the 1880s; C.A. Freeman, secretary of Central Sewer Pipe Co., in the early 1900s; H.D. Westfall, vice president of the LaBelle Iron Works (forerunner to what is now Severstal Wheeling), in the mid-teens; and C?D. Simeral, publisher of the Herald-Star, around 1929.

When staying at the Bayberry House, the guests rent the entire house.

A stroll up the refurbished sidewalk and steps onto the restored, pillared front porch takes a visitor through a high front door into a foyer with a restored stairway leading to the second floor. A formal parlor and dining room capture the era of Victorian elegance, while a sitting room off the dining room is thoroughly classic and modern at the same time, featuring a new wide-screen television. The flooring on the first floor are restored to their natural oak and walnut finish, and refinished or reproduction woodwork is used throughout the house. The kitchen has modern appliances for cooking, and Dressel said Bayberry provides baked goods and coffee from the Downtown Bakery daily for guests.

The home has four bedrooms on the second floor along with a full, modern bath, and there is another full bath on the first floor. A set of back stairs lead from the kitchen to the second floor. Up to eight guests may stay at the Bayberry House.

The Bayberry House, Dressel said, is for "anyone interested in staying in a unique, unusual setting, or someone who is interested in history."

The inn already has attracted guests from Michigan and Kentucky , and Dressel said anyone who has visitors coming to town may direct them to stay at the Bayberry House.

The house is part of an ambitious plan that would see the house next door, 801 N. Fourth St. , the former Weir house, and the house at 741 N. Fourth St. all serving guests, with the Weir house as the centerpiece of the Bayberry Inn.

Dressel said work on 741 N. Fourth St. is progressing to the point where it could be ready for guests as early as September, while the extensive renovations to the Weir house put its completion years away, with years of work already done.

"In restoration work, we run into things we do not expect," Dressel said. "I have been doing this for 20 years and I expect everything to be unexpected, so that I don't worry about it like I used to."

For information on the Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast, call (740) 632-2899, or e-mail Dressel at scott@bayberryproperties.com or visit www.bayberryproperties.com and click on the Bayberry House link.

(Giannamore can be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com.)

October 2007 February 2009

Dave Gossett Herald Star
THIS OLD HOUSE — Scott Dressel points to a cooking fire place hearth in a house he believes dates back to at least the 1840s. Dressel said the back rooms of the house where the original home and the front part of the house was probably added in the 1860s.

Kitchen Completed September 2009

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Piece of the past given new life

Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast opens