Historical home damaged by storm

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Citizens of Monticello are well-acquainted with historical homes, as the general downtown area is full of historically significant buildings that are seemingly aon display for the community to admire. These homes, offices and businesses are important relics that connect the town to its past, and many of them can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike in the way of vacation rentals, tour destinations and bed and breakfasts. These buildings make up a significant part of Monticello's beauty, history and small-town charm.
One of Monticello's historical buildings withstood significant damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. The Cottage Bed and Breakfast, located at 295 W. Palmer Mill Rd., has records dating back to at least 1917, although it is expected that the building was built some time before that, making it well over 100 years old. While a few families have called the handsome building home over the years, for the last 25 years, it has been in the careful care of Jean-Michel and Martha Cravanzola, who bought the home and moved in 1998.
The home was iconic, for years featuring a beautiful front courtyard surrounded by rose-colored walls, winding wisteria and stunning trees that had been firmly rooted since before the Cravanzolas moved in. It is one of these stunning trees, however, that has become the cause of recent distress for the couple, after one of its massive branches came crashing through the roof.
“We were asleep when it happened,” explains Martha. “It was early in the morning, perhaps 5 o'clock or so, and there was a big crash that shook the house. It sounded and felt like a bomb had gone off.”
When the alarmed pair came into their dining room to investigate, they discovered that one of the limbs of the massive oak tree that had previously stood in front of their house had come crashing through their roof, knocking pieces of ceiling down in its wake. The impact caused a huge cloud of dust to burst into the adjacent rooms, and debris and tree limbs cluttered the home.
This catastrophic event occurred after much of the hurricane winds from Idalia had ceased and the couple stated that, as far as the actual hurricane went, they suffered little to no damage, minus the loss of power. But with the collapse of the mighty tree came clear destruction, although the couple had to wait until daybreak to discover the full extent of the damage.
“It's worse than we originally thought,” says Martha gravely, adding that the sheer impact of the tree branch piercing the house resulted in a shift of the entire front of the house, and even bricks from the chimney connected to the room became dislodged and added to the debris. The floor currently has a hole in it, several windows have been smashed, and the roof is in dire need of repair as well.
“As bad as it is,” she says, “it could have been even worse. But the house is old – the materials are of good, strong quality, and they were able to withstand a lot more than some houses today could have. We are very fortunate that the trunk of the tree didn't strike the house; it was just a substantial branch. It caused a lot of damage, but if that trunk had landed on the house, I can't imagine the damage...”
The couple, while grateful it wasn't worse, is unsure of just how to proceed with repairs. Jean-Michel expressed his dismay at the timing of this disastrous event; he had hip surgery just two weeks prior, and says that otherwise, he would likely be out there handling a good portion of the clean up himself.
In addition to the damage to their home, the couple laments the loss of the beautiful oak, as well as the 150 year old wisteria vine that was destroyed by the tree when it fell.
“We loved that wisteria; it was probably older or as old as the house,” sighs Martha, shaking her head. “Although, its presence in front of the window probably helped protect the house from more damage – there was a big metal frame under it that protected the window from getting a direct hit from the other part of the tree.”
“We are very thankful that there were no injuries,” she continues, “and we have been very touched by a lot of sweet people who saw the damage and came to check on us.”
The tree that fell on the home was so big it required a crane to lift it up and out of the Cravanzola's home. Sections of the trunk show that the tree, while normal in appearance from the outside, was actually hollow and rotted on the inside.
“Unknown to us,” says Martha, “the tree was hollow at its base, and just snapped off at the base.”
“It could have happened any time,” says Jean-Michel. “It just happened to fall right after the storm. We don't know how long it has been like that, hollow in the middle. Probably for many years, but we've never had so much as even a limb fall.”
The couple suspects that the old, damaged trunk was no match for the weight of the sturdy, thick branches, and that the tree, which managed to withstand the winds of Hurricane Idalia, eventually collapsed under the weight of its own rain-drenched limbs.
As far as clean up and repairs go, the couple is hopeful that they can spare as much of the original materials of the house as possible, but are eager to meet with contractors and specialized individuals with good reputations that can give them an idea of exactly what sort of work they are looking at, and how much can be saved of the original building. Anyone who has experience in contractor work who may be interested or available in helping can contact reporter2@ecbpublishing.com to be connected with the family.