Street Road House
by Chrysa Smith
Diabase is the tongue-in-cheek name of a bucolic farm located in Upper Makefield. It’s named for the regionally common igneous rock from which the house was built. But the name isn’t at all indicative of the property, because as you wind your way up the gravel driveway, lush landscapes come into view. It’s pure Bucks County, complete with an expansive, pre-revolutionary stone farmhouse, a few ancillary residences, two barns and two ponds. It’s all set amidst some 100+ acres of preserved open space. And its history runs deep.
Once known as Sycamore Farm, the roots of this property date back to 1750. It is part and parcel of William Penn’s Land Grant sold (in 1709) to The London Company, a land speculation group. They later sold off parcels, including a 7500-acre plot from which Diabase Farm was a part.
Current homeowner Robert Infarinato, an attorney by trade, purchased the home in 1986, because of its character, intimate Upper Makefield community and relative commuting distance between New York and Fort Washington. He is owner of a four-and-a-quarter-acre parcel and enjoys showing the property and talking about its history.
Not much is known about the property’s early days, but possibly one of the longest and more recent owners were George and Charlotte Dyer who purchased the home and all of its acreage in 1932 for about six and a half thousand dollars. According to Charlotte, in a 1980 interview, it was in pretty bad shape, noting that the ceiling was hanging, shingles were falling off and the house had no utilities. But they had vision and the farm had generous acreage, so they began farm life. In the interview, Charlotte waxed poetic about earlier times when the barn was full of animals. “It had a wonderful feeling of hominess and comfort and warmth that you don’t get today,” she said. After WWII, they began dairy farming for a while, producing as much as a ton of milk per day. But in ’78, it ended, due to government control of milk pricing. Charlotte said “We had to sell because the government set the price of milk and we couldn’t afford to pay a second man. Now we’re in sheep and hay.”
So they began, as do many farmers, planting by hand, coming in exhausted after the end of a long day’s work. But it wasn’t all farming. George was known to play George Washington for the Delaware Crossing reenactments and Charlotte? Well, she was known to rarely spend more than $20 on anything. They were host to ROTC drills for groups that came up from Philadelphia, and up until recent years when surrounding housing has blocked off perimeters of the property, fox hunts and a wider assortment of wildlife were present.
The Dyers had a tenant farmer for about 50 years. Hans Gramm and his wife immigrated from Berlin, working on this land of 133 acres. Charlotte, a township supervisor and proponent of open space, gifted all of the property to Natural Lands, once known as Natural Lands Trust. Robert preserved about 30 acres at the top of Jericho Mountain and he negotiated with the trust to preserve as much acreage as possible. They left about 24 or so acres, not within the trust until recently, and it is used by a tenant farmer from just outside of Wycombe. Their entry into the Open Space movement came when George realized, having farmed land, that farmers couldn’t pay as much in taxes as developers. He began a movement that raised money to help save farms. The farm is now totally under trust, and a gentleman leases the land from the Natural Lands and uses the Pole Barn.
Robert relays the fact that George was General Patton’s historian. And that may have influenced his desire to prepare for anything. Heading to Finkle’s Hardware in Lambertville, NJ, Dyer purchased steel rails, which were used, along with concrete to reinforce the original structure. It may also account for Charlotte’s ‘bake oven’ (fueled from a cooking fireplace).
Robert says that there have been three additions to the home since its original structure. Among them, legend has it that one piece of the home can be attributed to a farmer on the property who sold grain to Napoleon’s army. And that allowed an addition to be annexed in 1830. The third piece, a shorter segment of the home, was added in 1943 and Robert introduced a more modern twist on the home in 1988, adding a kitchen and garden room where a meal could be enjoyed as well as the view. The changes have added up to a present day four bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house.
A building was added for George, apparently if he agreed not to head to Hollywood to follow an interest in movie-making. Although George never did make a movie, he did sell a book to the movies, which allowed the Dyers to add some modern-day conveniences, like running water and heat. Called the Dyer Institute, the structure now serves as home to another family.
Structurally, there is also a cowshed and grain storage building (circa 1850) that house two apartments. And then there is the barn. Once home to the active dairy farm, the aging structure was in disrepair and Robert Infarinato worked to restore the barn and cow shed in 2004. The cow shed has been repurposed into a three-car garage, and the corn crib into wood storage for winter. Even in the barn, where hay was stored on the top level, Robert was concerned about aesthetics. With few original windows, the dark room was eventually brightened up with the addition of coordinating windows. Much of the wood used was salvaged from the barn, with experienced Amish woodsmen finishing them out. While it currently remains dormant, the barn is still home to horse stalls, cow stanchions and a separate space for bulls.
Now, when you step inside of the farmhouse, as with many older structures, rooms sit on a variety of levels. The entrance leads you into a hallway, which Robert says was not common in this era. Wide pine plank floors run throughout much of the first floor, but for the newest cork-floored addition. Walls of the original stone are visible here and there, utilizing as much of the original home as possible--all thanks to John Milner, an architect from West Chester, Pennsylvania. He created the newest space to flow seamlessly with old, keeping windows extraordinarily close in likeness to the existing and adding the long, well-lit space along one wall that houses a breakfast/garden room and modern kitchen, with lots of natural lighting and cork flooring. The kitchen was featured in House Beautiful Magazine in March 1991.
The spacious kitchen has interesting dark green cabinetry that compliments the home’s older qualities, yet an arched window, set inside an arched wall presents a more contemporary tone and view of the property. Green shutters remain; a reminder of what the home had once been.
The original home, where a living room with front and back doors, large fireplace and ‘bake oven’ dwells is still intact. A warm brown stained beamed ceiling encases the room whose front door showcases one of the ponds. Robert believes the door was moved from its original location and windows added for aesthetic reasons.
The house was built with kitchen located off the main hall, since converted into somewhat of a sitting area. Strangely enough, the kitchen fireplace never did work. And now what is quite striking in the room is the gold wall that displays his collection of beautiful black and white photography. In fact, photography lines the walls throughout the home, and includes classic shots of Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Sinatra, Mother Teresa, as well as other prominent people and street scenes. Robert has shown his photography collection at the Michener Art Museum and at a variety of shows between here and Upstate New York.
A favorite space is the dining room, with large fireplace flanked by small green-painted closet spaces that Robert refers to as candle doors. “There’s not much else that could be stored there,” he says, as he points out the candlelight chandelier that had been purchased prior to buying the house.
A large living area houses another fireplace. It’s deep sills and moldings set off the warm wood floors and colonial blue accents. An antique desk is located against one wall, serving as a traditional writing space.
On the second floor, there are two master suites. Large rooms for the age of the home, Chestnut floors set the stage as the room he uses contains a canopy bed and mix of old and new furnishings. The second bedroom was converted to a blue and white themed bathroom, creating an en suite, complete with claw foot tub and pedestal sink.
The attic, the third floor of the home, contains more living space. It is dormered and framed by a wood planked ceiling in one sleeping space. A cast iron fireplace warms the space, while several windows provide it with ample light. “It’s a great place for grand nieces and nephews to hang out” says Robert.
Then just down the hallway sits what was once the maid quarters, a pleasant pale-yellow colored room with angled ceilings and adjoining built-in closet space. The closet space still contains the original pink-flowered wallpaper, which Robert decided to preserve for the future—a bit of a testament to the past. And his past is calling him again.
Robert Infarinato, who has had an interesting life as an attorney, a native of Rochester, New York, who had a stint in Boston, spent time in New York City and a school semester in Florence, Italy, has listed the house and is now returning to Manhattan to join his partner Diane. He and his Irish Terrier Annie will have some adjusting to do living in a much smaller environment. But he laments that he’s been in this home some 30 years. “This house should be owned by people in their 40’s or 50’s. It’s time to turn it over to the next owners.”
While Robert told me the basement was typical of farmhouse and didn’t continue our tour there, I was told it does contain a bomb shelter, currently and wisely used as a wine cellar.
But there was one more thing before this most welcoming homeowner let me go. He told me that, despite it all—his favorite piece in the home is his walnut wall cupboard. Perhaps because he bought that in Upstate New York; a beautifully crafted piece and one that’s a testament to his own original home and history.
More about this beautiful home can be found at 45streetroad.com.
Chrysa Smith is a Bucks County resident who contributes regularly to Bucks County Magazine..