BOYHOOD HOME OF GEORGE GALLUP WILL SOON UNDERGO RENOVATION |
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A whole lot of new activity is beginning at the Gallup House, 703 South Chestnut in Jefferson, the boyhood home of George Gallup, founder of the respected and widely-used Gallup Poll.
The Gallup House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has been empty for the past several years. In 2001, at the urging of Jefferson resident Kristin Roberts, the New Jersey-based company that Gallup founded decided to buy the octagonal-shaped house in Jefferson, in order to try to save and make new use of it. Officials of that company, Gallup & Robinson, contracted for basic maintenance of the house, but deferred any major renovations until they came to a consensus on what kind of programming could be developed for the facility if they restored it.
Now, Gallup & Robinson has decided to move forward with renovations of the home in hopes that the final plans for programming will materialize as the work on the house progresses. "We really came to a place where we had to begin work on the structure, or we'd be risking permanent damage to both the interior and exterior of the home," said Scott Purvis, president of Gallup & Robinson, who spent two days in Jefferson last fall.
Last summer Purvis solicited bids from area contractors for the restoration work, and in the fall came to Jefferson for interviews with two companies. He then hired Gettler Construction of Jefferson to do much of the work planned for the house, including raising the entire structure and having a new foundation and full basement rebuilt.
While weather will likely be a factor, work will be underway on the house this winter, beginning with removal of a breezeway structure on the rear of the structure. After other demolition work and the house-raising and new foundation are completed, interior work will begin. Purvis hired area resident Carla Offenburger to oversee the project for the company.
"The fact that this home is the boyhood home of George Gallup will be a draw for visitors in the future, and its unique architectural design, the octagon shape, will also be significant for visitors," said Offenburger. Purvis said, "Ultimately we hope that a variety of programming can take place at the property to make it a viable and self-supporting facility. We are looking at some of the original ideas that Kristin Roberts suggested to us, for having the finished home be available for a variety of uses such as business or private retreats, educational meetings and seminars, and private receptions. The possibility of having bed and breakfast rooms in it has also been raised. Kristin had some creative ideas that we want to continue to explore, along with new ideas that continue to present themselves."
Offenburger is looking for interior pictures of the home through the past 100 years, and is hoping area residents who have lived in, or visited, the
home might have such photos in family albums. Stories of Gallup's childhood
in Greene county are also of interest to Offenburger. She can be reached at
(515) 386-5488 or by e-mail at carla@Offenburger.com.
While as much of the original home as possible will be retained, Offenburger did note that the breezeway windows and two garage doors are just a few of the items that will eventually be for sale during the construction process. Anyone interested in those items should contact her. Gallup & Robinson, according to the company's site on the Internet, was founded by Dr. George Gallup and Dr. Claude Robinson in 1948 to apply proven survey research methods to the study of advertising effectiveness. Gallup & Robinson is the world's first advertising research firm, having developed many of the methodologies now standard in the industry. It claims to be Gallup's second for-profit business, after his boyhood milk route in Jefferson.
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