Blessed with caring new owners who moved in last spring, this splendid house also stands as testimony to the couple who restored it over 15 years ago, and to its pioneering rescue from demolition by the Danville Historical Society. 

Even today, the house retains its original Queen Anne form from 1896, when it was one of a pair of nearly identical side- hail houses built as "spec" by one of Danville's tobacconist near-millionaires, CC. Dula. Early in the 20th century, 1031 Main Street became the residence of newlyweds Barnes and Mary Katherine Penn during construction of their new dwelling across the street, 1020 Main Street, completed in June 1903 by Mrs. Penn’s parents as a wedding gift for the couple. 

For a number of years the property was home first to the R.A. Arrington family, then to Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Scales. With Miss Pearl Morrisette, Mrs. (Bessie) Scales was a recorder of folk history in the Danville area for the Federal Writers Project, part of President Roosevelt’s Depression-era effort to put America back to work. From the 1940s and into the 1970s, the house was the residence of the Robert E. Turner family. 

In the summer of 1986 when preservationists became aware of the imminent demolition of the house, an ad-hoc committee of the Danville Historical Society mobilized to stabilize what was then a neglected eyesore. 

Just one classified ad attracted a couple from Silver Spring, Maryland, willing to tackle the massive restoration project. Bill and Billie McCaw spent the next two years practically rebuilding the structure—replacing rotted sill beams, making the original double-hung windows frilly operable, and completely stripping and then repainting the exterior in warm earth tones appropriate to the period. They also paid particular attention to preserving and enhancing the late Victorian character of the interior.

The talent and professionalism of Cyndee Perdue Moore, and husband Jeff Moore is evident as these new owners bring renewed life to the structure. Their adaptation of the ground floor as a gathering place for family and friends is a delightful twist in this otherwise traditional, but comfortable, dwelling from the Victorian era.