Historic Surface/Bowen/Buck House

Bramwell's Historic Surface/Buck/Bowen House.

A 1943 rear house view of Bramwell's Historic Surface/ Buck/Bowen House. William Surface owned this house on Bramwell's Wyatt Street in 1943 as shown in the bottom photograph. The house was built in 1900 and may have been at that time been owned by someone in the Bowen family. It is known that Joseph Bowen nad his father owned separate homes in Freeman,WV, as recorded on various early 1900 maps of Freeman and the location of these houses are shown in the below historic map. House No. 2 was Wm. & Harriet Bowen's home, House No. 8 was the elder Joseph & Elizabeth Bowen's home. Information from the National Register does not clarify the Bowen ownership of this house. We have no information on where the grandfather, Jonathan Bowen's house was located.

The above hand drawn map from Marth Jane Becker's book : Bramwell, "The Diary of a Millionaire Coal Town" shows the housing, church and coal company stores layout that existed in Freeman and Simmons, WV along Rt. 52 around the turn of the 19th century.

From Page 8 of the PDF of the National Historical Register Site featuring Bramwell, WV:

Wyatt Street - 55. BUCK/BOWEN--ca. 1900 (Pivotal) large two-story frame dwelling; gabled and hipped roof; gabled projecting pavillion at front center, bay on first floor center. Large porch extends across entire front and projects a curve to correspond iwth the bay and pavillion. Tall slender columns support porch. Square window appears in gable of a corresponding gabled pavillion at rear of house. Many windows have diamond- shaped lights in upper sashes. The den has walls covered in leather. House greatly embellished in the 1950's. Lot No. 23.

William Surface and his family lived in this historic house in 1943. The house is located on Wyatt Street that is connected to Duhring Street. It is in the vacinity of the Historic Thomas House that is located off Duhring Street. William Surface's grandaughter writes: "My grandfather was a mine forman for one of the coal companies and was originally from Pageton. I believe he had seven children all together. I don't know how long they lived in the house. My mother told me he paid $7,000 for the house and put some work into it. My mother and brother stayed there while my father was in the navy. She told me she worked at the drug store."

BRAMWELL STREET MAP

MORE INFORMATION ON NATIONAL HISTORIC HOUSE REGISTER

Photograph furnished by: William Surface's grandaughter, Donna Curnutte