COOL OR CREEPY?
Couple renovates a fixer-upper funeral home to live in and accidentally uncovers its even spookier past
A MASSACHUSETTS couple knew buying a funeral home to live in was a bit abnormal, but they didn't expect to uncover a shocking truth about its history.
The couple learned their fixer-upper was originally a hospital in the 1900s and has found physical evidence of its past.
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Mike and Robin Legere, partners and owners of construction and project management company Legere Homes, bought their unique fixer-upper Colonial in August of 2017 for $550,000, according to .
At the time of purchase, the Winthrop, Massachusetts home was advertised as spanning just over 3,100 square feet and housing four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.
In an post shared a few months after their big purchase, the couple called it “a big ol’ beaut with a ton of potential,” but admitted they were slightly overwhelmed.
However, the determined couple, who have been together for nearly a decade, has come a long way since then and even moved into the two-bed, one-bath upstairs apartment as they work on the rest of their special home.
Of course, there’s something chilling about living in a hospital-turned funeral home, but for Mike and Robin, that’s just part of its charm.
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE HOUSE
Mike and Robin knew they were buying a former funeral home – which they nicknamed Our Final Resting Place online – but what they did not expect it to come with such a rich history.
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According to a historical held by the Winthrop Public Library, Pennsylvania native Dr. Ben Hicks Metcalf moved to Winthrop in 1897 and established a very successful practice.
His skills were so sought-after that he eventually built a private hospital at 174 Winthrop Street that fit 15 beds in 1904.
Dr. Metcalf was pulled away from his practice in 1918 to serve in World War I, but returned once the war ended.
However, he was forced to retire by 1922 due to complications caused by the war.
His practice stayed in operation until 1932 when the Winthrop Community Hospital opened.
According to Robin and Mike, the hospital was then transformed into the Alfred B. Marsh Funeral Home in 1941.
“It operated as such until 1972, when the home was acquired by Mr. Frazier and renamed the Frazier Funeral Home,” they online.
“Mr. Frazier held funerals here until about a year before we purchased the property.”
And despite the home’s history filled with death and sickness, the Legeres celebrate it.
“It’s a kooky old home with a unique history, and we love everything about it,” they said.
OKAY, BUT IT IS HAUNTED?
While Robin and Mike joke online that it’s a haunted house, they haven’t shared any hair-raising ghost stories on their social media.
They do poke fun at their story, though: They dressed up as Gomez and Morticia Addams for Halloween and their home the “spookiest house on the block.”
Despite not having any ghost stories, they have found several items through their renovations that paint a picture of the home’s interesting past.
For instance, they once found a when their contractors were working on drywall on the third floor.
Robin and Mike don’t know how old it is, but perhaps it belonged to one of Dr. Metcalf’s children.
They’ve also scalpels, what looks like the bottom portion of a stretcher that deceased bodies would be placed on, and an old clay pipe.
While this wasn’t necessarily “found,” as it was hanging on the wall, Robin and Mike have about the old telephone hanging in the basement, saying they are nervous it will “start ringing in the middle of the night” only to hear “the sounds of heavy mouth breathing” on the other end.
Possibly their most interesting find is an old that was never placed on a gravestone.
The couple is currently trying to track down any living members of the deceased veteran so they can be united with the touching piece of family history.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Robin and Mike are still working on their fixer-upper funeral home, but they have successfully turned it into a three-family home and are renting at least one of the apartments within it.
“Our work is definitely not over, but it’s so fun looking back at how much we have accomplished over the last couple of years,” they in a 2020 Instagram post.
Plus, in January, they noted Mike is heading the construction company as Robin helps with various related projects.
She has also begun working with her friend who opened an interior design, organization, and home staging company.
“Don’t worry, Mike and I will still be working together,” Robin asserted.
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“Legere Homes is our family business, and we have PLENTY of projects to work on together!
“The best part about this is that interior designers always need a great carpenter around.”
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