old stone foundation

Stone Ruins, Shells and More

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Say, you purchase a plot of land, and sitting atop that slice of earth is a stone foundation, a random wall or the shell of an old stone home. What would you do with it? Take a look at these for-sale properties and tell us what you think. Which one do you like the best? Which has the most potential? Which one makes you long to see photos of the property from former days?

Charles Springer Tavern Stone Barn Remains

Stone Barn Lane Wilmington Delaware, stone barn ruins, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, stone walls, stone foundations, old stone barns
Stone Barn Lane Wilmington Delaware, stone barn ruins, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, stone walls, stone foundations, old stone barns
Stone Barn Lane Wilmington Delaware, stone barn ruins, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, stone walls, stone foundations, old stone barns
Charles Springer Tavern, Wilmington, Delaware, old stone homes, old stone houses, old stone barn ruins, old stone barn foundation

On a plot of land that fronts Lancaster Pike in Wilmington, Delaware, you’ll find these beautiful circa-1852 stone barn ruins. They were once part of the larger circa-1780 Springer Tavern property that sits just across the lane from the barn. The barn was built by farmer Moses Journey, who purchased the tavern property in 1848.

Marshall Family Land Holdings

Marshal Family Property, Red Barn, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, Delaware River, Delaware Canal, stone ruins, old stone barns
Marshal Family Property, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, old stone home for sale, old stone houses for sale, stone ruins, old stone barns, Delaware River, Delaware Canal
Marshal Family Property, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, old stone home for sale, old stone houses for sale, stone ruins, old stone barns, Delaware River, Delaware Canal
Marshal Family Property, Red Barn, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, Delaware River, Delaware Canal, stone ruins, old stone barns

Own a piece of Bucks County history! This Erwinna, Pennsylvania, plot of land, originally owned by some of the township’s earliest residents, boasts amazing views across the Delaware Canal and River to New Jersey. The almost five-acre property includes its original farmhouse, which is in dire need of restoration, plus a barn, a corn crib and the remains of the property’s original bank barn.

Old Farmstead with Stone Shell

Stone Farmhouse, Dover Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, old barns, old stone walls
Stone Farmhouse Shell Dover Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, old barns,
Stone Farmhouse Shell Dover Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, old barns
Stone Farmhouse Shell Dover Pennsylvania, old stone homes for sale, old stone houses for sale, old barns,

Gentleman farmer? Winemaker? Horse breeder? Now’s your chance to own 28 rolling pasture-like acres of prime farmland in lush York County, Pennsylvania. This Dover property comes with a barn with an old stone wall forebay, an open-span shed, a courtyard-style area and a circa-1900 stone farmhouse surrounded by a stone-capped wall. The home is in shell condition, awaiting the personal touches of a loving owner.

A Patch of Mountain Paradise

Farmland Madison Virginia, old stone foundation, old stone ruins, farmland for sale, Rapidan Wildlife Management Area
Farmland Madison Virginia, old stone foundation, old stone ruins, farmland for sale, Rapidan Wildlife Management Area
Farmland Madison Virginia, old stone foundation, old stone ruins, farmland for sale, Rapidan Wildlife Management Area
Farmland Madison Virginia, old stone foundation, old stone ruins, farmland for sale, Rapidan Wildlife Management Area

Private mountain views in all directions? Sold! This 97-acre plot of land in Madison, Virginia, is surrounded by 500 acres of Rapidan Wildlife Management Area land and provides space for a new house or cabin and includes the remains of the property’s original stone homestead, which could be incorporated into a new build. Beautiful!

When the World Gives You Lemons …

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You’ve purchased a plot of land that happens to include the remains of an old stone structure (home, barn, mill, what have you). Maybe the walls are still standing and the roof is intact (although it’s about to cave into the structure). Or perhaps all that remains is the rubbled outline of a barn foundation.

old marble structure, stone ruins, Alford, MA

Thirty-five acre property that includes old marble structure, Alford, MA. Source: Zillow.

You certainly don’t have the funds to rebuild this home (although you may desperately long to). What to do? Don’t demolish, but incorporate the remains into a brand new structure.

Need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Take a look at The White House, located on the Scottish Isle of Coll. A forward-thinking couple decided to shore up the walls of the abandoned stone home, and nestle their new eco-friendly home within it. The old stone walls protect the new structure from brutal winds while lending a sense of permanence to a modern structure built of locally sourced, low-impact materials.

old stone home, Scotland, adaptive reuse, new home in old stone home

A new eco-friendly home built within the remains of The White House, Isle of Coll, Scotland. Source: Wtarchitecture.com.

Springdale Farm, a circa-1837 estate located in Brinklow, Maryland, boasts European-style gardens planted within the confines of the property’s old stone bank barn, which was destroyed by fire in the 1940s. Its ruins were repointed to form the perimeter of the walled-in garden, where irises, peonies, roses, foxgloves, hybrid daylilies, baptisia, mums bloom.

Old stone ruins, bank barn ruins, garden inside old stone ruins

English gardens planted within remains of old stone bank barn, Springdale Farm, Brinklow, Maryland. Source: Dcmud.com.

On Pico, a remote volcanic island 800 miles west of Portugal, firm SAMI Arquitectos, in an effort to save 16th-century ruins, built a two-story concrete vacation home within the basalt stone walls of a long-since-decayed home. Four bedrooms are located on the ground floor, which in the stone home housed livestock.

old basalt stone ruins, new home in old stone ruins, adaptive reuse

New cement two-story vacation home built within the ruins of an old basalt stone home, Pico, Portugal. Source: Dezeen.com.

Back in the states, near Baltimore, Maryland, circa-1850s buildings (formerly part of the Poole and Hunt Foundry) house apartments, condos, office space and shops in a community coined Clipper Mill. The community pool is of particular note, as it is built within the the basement area of a former machine shop.

A community pool has been built within the ruins of a foundry in the Clipper Mill community, Baltimore, Maryland. Source: Thornhillbaltimore.com.

A community pool has been built within the ruins of a foundry in the Clipper Mill community, Baltimore, Maryland. Source: Thornhillbaltimore.com.

Have you salvaged old stone ruins? Or have you seen an absolutely extraordinary story of old stone homes and adaptive reuse? Share with us!