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Wells House now officially historic as renovations continue by new owners

POTTERSVILLE - As work continues on the Wells House in Pottersville, its new owners, Paul and Shirley Bubar, asked the town of Chester to declare the old hotel an historic building.

"We certainly didn't have any problem with that," said Chester Supervisor Fred Monroe, "It was built in 1845, of course it's historic."

Having that official declaration made by the town board is a big step for the Bubars to get the building registered on the National Registry of Historic Places.

"This is a major accomplishment on the way to getting it registered," said Shirley Bubar, "We're hoping for a site inspection in a few weeks."

In the meantime, they are trying to discern what they can and can't do in their renovations to keep it within the guidelines of the historic register.

"Someone told us we can't change the windows, and someone else told us we can," she said.

Monroe said that historic buildings don't necessarily have to follow all the same rules as new construction.

"The rules allow them to keep some features that wouldn't be allowed by code otherwise," Monroe said.

Bubar said they are still going to do some things that aren't required just for safety, like putting sprinkler systems in all the rooms. They are also totally re-wiring the building.

"We have to take out all of the old wires," Bubar said, "Down in the cellar, it looks like someone threw spaghetti on the ceiling." The plumbing is also being replaced while the sprinkler system is installed.

"We're real good at demolishing," Bubar said, "It looks worse now than before. But you have to demolish some in order to build."

She said the community has been very encouraging, and people are wondering if they are really going to be able to finish the project and restore the old hotel to its past glory.

"We are going to do it," Bubar said, "And we want to make it look the way it was."