Peaceable estate in Lewes features historic depot-turned-pool house

When Emory Bevill saw the master bedroom mural of Edward Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom” – the very same 1834 version of the painting he’d displayed in his office for the past 20 years – he took it as a sign that he and his partner were meant to breathe life back into the abandoned historic Millman Homestead in Lewes.

That was 13 years ago. Today, the 3-plus-acre property is a sylvan estate known as Peaceable, with stone paths wending through award-winning landscaping.

In the main house, the couple completely renovated the kitchen and existing bathrooms and added a master bath. They retained the home’s Colonial character but imbued a modern feel in the form of open floor plans and increased natural light.

Two unusual outbuildings also sit on the property: an 1869 train depot relocated from Harbeson as well as an authentic log cabin of the same era imported from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Both have been extensively renovated into guest quarters; the depot doubles as a pool house for the 40-foot pool the owners had installed.

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The men preserved the apple and peach orchard on the property and turned to friend Holt Jordan of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture to translate their roughly drawn ideas into reality for the grounds.

“Through plantings, hardscaping, lighting and garden elements, we tried to unify the structures,” Bevill said. “Each structure had good bones. They just needed to be brushed up.”

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The original section of the house dates to 1840 and makes up the kitchen and a second-story bedroom accessed by a narrow, semi-circular staircase.

But it wasn’t built where it stands today – it was located a short distance east of the present structure.

From there, the original building was moved around 1880 to the end of Willow Creek Road, according to a history of the property provided by the owners. Then, an addition was built using post-and-beam construction, hand-hewn logs and wood pegs – no nails. Today, that portion of the home houses a foyer and staircase, formal living room and second-floor library.

The eponymous Millmans, whose seven children were born in the house, lived there from 1930 to 1972, presiding over the surrounding 220-acre family farm.

In 1980, the structure moved again, to just south of its present location. In 1985, it was relocated one last time to where it rests today, at 16239 Willow Creek Road.

Despite its transience and facelifts, the main home retains numerous original elements, including most of the flooring on the first level, complemented by reclaimed yellow pine and white oak.

Where not original to the home, some architecturally significant elements such as fireplace mantels were acquired from estates of the same era in the mid-Atlantic area.

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The list of notable accents is extensive. Among them: a corner Chippendale cabinet, circa 1760, imported from a private home in Scotland; original kitchen pantry with wrought iron hardware; and the panoramic Peaceable Kingdom mural, altered to include the property’s main house and log cabin.

Despite the home’s Colonial design, the kitchen is all modern: Carrara marble counters, Sub-Zero refrigerator, Viking range, Bosch dishwasher and farm sinks.

The old Harbeson train depot also looks a far cry from its 1869 birthdate. Decommissioned in the mid-1930s, it was first moved to Front Street in Lewes, where it served as a gift shop before being owned by the Lewes Historical Society. It was relocated to the Millman Homestead in the late 1980s. Bevill and partner Chris Holt added a kitchen, shower and sleeping loft.

The other guest quarters began life as a homesteader’s cabin. It was deconstructed – including the fireplace – moved from Shenandoah Valley and reconstructed on Willow Creek Road. It, too, has been renovated with a bath, kitchenette and sleeping loft.

Now, all of it can be yours, at the list price of $2 million.

16239 Willow Creek Road, Lewes 

Asking price: $2 million

Size: 4,444 square feet

Lot: 3.19 acres

Rooms: Four bedrooms, five bathrooms, one half-bath

Outbuildings: Pool/guest house and log cabin

Built: 1840

Noteworthy: The old Harbeson train station, circa 1860, was moved to this property and now serves as a pool house/guest quarters. Guests also are accommodated at a circa 1850s log cabin that likewise was relocated from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Contact: Lee Ann Wilkinson, (302) 645-6664, leeann@leeanngroup.com

Suzanne Herel is a freelance journalist.

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Got a Delaware Space you'd like to see featured? We're looking for historical, eclectic and new homes, yards or other interesting spaces to feature. Send an email with your name,address of the space and a photo, if possible, to spaces@delawareonline.com.