By Sean CW Korsgaard
CP Reporter
The old home belonging to one of the families that build Sparta is open to the public this weekend for an estate sale – and everything is for sale, including the kitchen sink.
Pam Weldon is the owner of Liberty Park Estate Sale Services, a company based out of Bowling Green that has handled dozens of estate sales throughout the region. Word of mouth is how they got the job to handle the old Lakin family estate in Milford.
“Last year, we handled the estate sale of Verne Mahan, who used to run Union Bank and Trust,” said Weldon. “We must have left an impression because now that the Lakin family is looking to sell this property, the Mahan’s gave us a warm recommendation to handle the estate sale.”
In addition to the usual challenges of managing and organizing an estate sale, the property presented a series of unique challenges. The biggest challenge was digging through the attic, the barn and several other out buildings for anything to put up for sale. The second biggest challenge was doing all of this during a week where summer temperatures soared over one hundred degrees, and well above that in both the barn and attic.
“We always like to say you don’t find the really interesting stuff until you get dirty, and we hit the mother lode here,” said Weldon. “We’ve done a lot of estate sales, but few if any have offerings with a range like this.”
Some of the stranger items to be showcased at the sale range from an antique Japanese wall scroll to a turn of the century gymnastics trophy from the Normal School (Mary Washington University’s predecessor), and even what may be perhaps one of the strangest items Weldon she has yet encountered in all her years of doing state sales.
“We found this in the attic, and we thought it might be a strange pillow of some kind, but we wanted to make sure, so we took a few pictures which we sent to an expert,” said Weldon. “As it turns out, the cushion was used as a grout footstool, which was a very common medical issue at the time. Gross, but kind of cool too, you know?”
The big seller though, at least Weldon predicts, may surprise most people: antique wood, be it old doors or various bits of old barn wood.
“Wood like that is not only hard to find, but highly sought by people to make things like mantles or tables from it,” said Weldon. “It’s also some of the only material that can be used to restore historic houses.”
The Lakin family came to Caroline County from New York after the Civil War, and they would come to build much of what would become the heart of the community of Sparta, including the old Sparta mill and the old general store. Eventually, in 1912, the Lakin family built the family homestead located at 24143 Sparta Road, which stands to this day. The estate sale offers a rare chance to not only tour the historic property, but to glimpse into a well-preserved window into life at the turn of the century.
“One of the great joys of the job is each old home like this is like taking a step back in time, you get a look at how people lived decades ago that you can’t get from a museum or a book,” said Weldon. “You certainly can’t shop around and buy anything at a museum like you can at an estate sale.”
The estate sale opens at 9 a.m. Friday August 25, and will run through Sunday August 27, with pickup set through the following Wednesday. Weldon is expecting thousands of people to come through the property over the weekend, and even if you’re not looking to buy, she extends an open invitation to come window shop.
“We have a lot of treasures and cherished things for sale, but this is also a historic home in Caroline County,” said Weldon. “We have plenty of land, and plenty of parking, come out with the family and a picnic lunch, we hope to see you whether or not you take anything home but a good experience.”
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