Barely surviving a fire and half the house torn off, this once-condemned Queen Anne style house with Eastlake trim was rescued last year at the eleventh hour by Danville newcomers committed to its reclamation.  Their zeal for restoration extends to their home on Sutherlin Avenue, also on tour, and enthusiasm for the potential of properties throughout the Old West End.

The Danville land book for 1893 records the addition of this side-hall plan house, built for Mr. J. A. Yancey on a 45-foot lot; it was assessed at $1,100 . Little is known about Mr. Yancey, Patton Street grocer who lived here, presumably, until only few months prior his death in May 1900.  The preceding January, Yancey and his wife, the former Kate Nelson, had sold the property to Samuel D. Rickman. Rickman, a railroad dispatcher for the narrow-gauge Danville & Western Railroad – a.k.a. the "Dick and Willie" – lived here with his family through the First World War before moving to 826 Grove Street.

In 1919 the Rickmans conveyed their Green Street house to Hettie J. Hutson and her husband John.  After Mrs. Hutson's death in 1926, their son, John Jr., inherited the property which he sold in 1928 to Moss W. Turner.  The following year Mr. and Mrs. Turner conveyed the property, in turn, to their son Russell, who lived here with his parents until the eve of World War II.  The Turner home continued to shelter Moss and Dora Turner into the 1950s.  After Mrs. Turner died in 1956, her husband conveyed the property to the first in a succession of absentee owners.

Until the recent dramatic reclamation of the house, nearly 50 years of decline had taken their toll.  Enter Richard Morris and Mark Willard, transplants from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who could see past the dwelling's decadent shell, right down to good "bones." An architect, Mr. Morris channeled his professional expertise and design-build abilities to ensure that new rear rooms and service areas meld seamlessly with the formal antique original spaces.  Outside, an authentic late Victorian palette emphasizes its geometry, now freshly painted in rich earth tones.