Balzer Huber House (1766)
Home of Wendy Tiefenbacher & Ken Mazzer
148 West Queen Street, Strasburg, VA
Expanded and added onto over a period of nearly 100 years, this iconic "country" Greek Revival home began life as a one-and-a-half story log house in 1766. Though the lot was originally purchased in 1765, by the laws of the time if a building was not constructed on it within a year, it reverted back to the developer, who in this case was Peter Stover. Blazer Huber bought the property in 1766, and his house was completed that same year. After having changed hands several times, the house was bought by Philip Spengler who doubled its size by raising the roof of the home to create two full stories and an attic, and by building a two story addition of the same size to the east, integrating the whole with clapboard. A distinctive balcony was built over the front door shading an entry porch accessed by stairs from the east and the west. In 1860, a two story north wing with porches was added behind the original log portion and now serves as a dining room and kitchen on the ground floor and a bath and office on the second floor. A living room, featuring a faux marbleized wooden mantle and a bedroom above occupy the east wing. The central hall features the same wide floorboards as the log wing and appears to be of the same period. The top of the simple Greek Revival newel post of the staircase is worn smooth by the touch of generations of hands. Two large stone fire places of the log home (the east living room and bedroom above) are original. Extensive renovations were made by the previous owners and current owners, Wendy Tiefenbacher and Ken Mazzer who bought the house in October of 2021 have completely renovated the kitchen down to the studs and brick. During the process large cut stones were found in the crawl space along with Civil War bullets and Strasburg pottery found there and in the yard. The renovated summer kitchen sits in a separate building behind the kitchen and serves as the laundry room. Former owner Lavern Pittman, believed this home was haunted, and it is on the Strasburg Ghost Tour.