The stones were brought to Danville by railway and hauled from the train to the building site by horse and wagon. Of particular note in both structures is that no two stones, all of which were hand-hewn, are alike. The only similarity in the houses is their external appearance. 

As the houses were being built, the Italian workmen erected a framework of wood; the stones were put in place, and the frame was removed. The resultant product was walls two feet thick. In all, two years were required to complete the dwellings. 

Throughout the Callahan home home, one will recognize that all the wood is birch. 

Peter Booth sold the house to Mr. J. M. Thomas and his wife Florence, and 18 years ago Mrs. Callahan’s former husband, the late Jackson Fowlkes, purchased it from the Thomas estate.

In the ensuing years the floor plan of the house has been altered to meet the demands of the four children who were reared there. The butler’s pantry and the breakfast nook were removed to provide the large kitchen and sitting area. 

In the kitchen one finds the then and now both represented. An old wood stove stands along with an electric range, the former being used often. From the beams on the ceiling and from hooks behind the stoves, one will find iron pots and pans hanging. Additionally, two Civil War muskets hang from the ceiling. In the kitchen, too, will be found a large meat block and a vintage spinning wheel. 

As the house was one of the first built with the kitchen connected to the structure, the back porch off the kitchen has been enclosed to provide a sitting room which blends an orange and green Cape Cod scene with wicker furniture; rocking chairs are used to best advantage. 

The Callahan home utilizes three complete floors and a full-size attic and incorporates 23 rooms with 68 windows and eight tile and woodwork fireplaces, all of which are in good working order. 

Throughout the home the furnishings are antiques which were collected and refinished by Mrs. Callahan. For instance, the dining room table once belonged to Governor Reed of North Carolina, and the piano in one of the two living rooms came from the Bijou Theatre, one of the oldest in Danville. The instrument has a slot into which one drops money, tripping a roll, as with a Nickelodeon. The pool room houses a pool table from one of the oldest pool rooms in Danville. Also in that room is a pin ball machine, table made entirely of horseshoes; plaques and accessories compliment the table. To one side of this room are life-size depictions of the Snuffy Smith cartoon figures. The wall is the outside of what the Callahans refer to as the “inside-outside John”. The interior decor of this bath is as an old hornet’s nest, with corncobs, Sears-Roebuck catalogs, an old lantern and a commode with the cover hooked together with leather straps. 

Following the untimely demise of Mrs. Callahan’s first husband, she and the children undertook a refinishing of the home’s basement as a diversion Page 2 
until they could accept their loss. The basement now is one of the most lived in areas with a bar made out of a very old antique meat box, with a marble top, milk glass sides and louvered doors, On the walls are antique fireplace closers hung as plaques. As furnishings, there are two old park benches covered with bright orange corduroy cushions; there is a round coffee table made of a wagon wheel with horse hames for legs. Carrying out the motif there are horse hame framed pictures and a horse shoe stand ash tray. For entertainment, the basement features an old juke box that lights up and is converted to play modern records, with a speaker outside the machine. The basement has been likened to Underground Atlanta. 

Outside the house the back stairs are old airplane steps and are made of wrought iron. The patio, walks and other brick areas surrounding the home were designed and laid by Mrs. Callahan, who had to chip the bricks to size and clean the mortar. The bricks came from the old Edmunds home on highway 29 South. Throughout the back of the home, Mrs. Callahan has rooted and put out about 350 boxwoods. 

Built by immigrants, this residence has now become a showcase where the formal and informal, the old and the new join for functional living.