Todd and Martha Monk restored the house of the German village, which is presented on the German village skin and garden tour for his earlier fame through careful, detailed research and work.
When South Bend, Indiana, moved to Columbus in 2019, they looked at houses in Bexley, Clintonville and German. It was an old home in the latter neighborhood that really attracted her attention.
“The feeling of community and the heart spoke to us,” says Martha. “When I came to this house for the first time and clicked on this old goal [to enter the property] And then I opened this original door and saw these old handkerchiefs in the living room, I only knew that I wanted to have a piece of history like this. ”
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The couple bought the house in February 2020 in 544 p. 6th St. and moved in with their rescue animals – Dogs Duke and Gonzo and her cat Ru. Todd had a long career in the construction industry. He moved to Columbus to work as a manager for construction work for Amazon Web Services in December 2019. Martha works in Human Resources for a consulting company.
Within months after moving in, they started a project with full home recovery. “It was important for us to accept the story and do it properly,” says Martha.
According to information that the monks come from the German village society, the history of the house dates back to 1880 when Henry and Catherine Orthoefer, a painter and housewife, bought the property – originally Lot No. 10 in Brayden's addition. The house was built in 1892. Henry later sold the house to his three daughters for $ 1 for “love and affection”. His daughter Frances Orthoefer was a beloved music teacher who held piano lessons and concerts in the house in which the family lived for more than 80 years.
How the historic village house was restored
Todd restored the house itself, which included practical work for over five years. This carefully included the original mill work, doors and windows of the Italian house in the Italian house, the hardware and the iron work and the restoration of the plaster walls. Any equipment, mill work and doors that are not original at home were removed. He had tailor -made shape knives to meet mill cladding and doors to the original profiles.
The project also included removing original windows, restoring and reinstalling with outdated weights, belt slices and ropes to make them functional. When a window needed a new glass, the obtained Todd Restover glass from Germany to replicate the appearance of the original material.
The house has two and a half baths that were gutted and rebuilt. A bathroom on the upper floor had a claw bathtub that was not functional and was replaced by a glass shower. Todd says the only place where the house is in the owner's bathroom, where he created a spa feeling with a heated floor, a steam shower and a light, modern colors.
The kitchen was redesigned to mix the modern amenities with the historical elements. Custom Cabinetry and Custom Fored bronze cabinet hardware were installed. Light switch came from London, England. Hand polished nickel fittings adorn both a hammered nickel sink and a porcelain pool.
The monks searched for three years for extremely dark green – almost black – soapstone with a prominent white veil for the kitchen island and for the worktops. They had visited Stone Mart without success, but decided to check one last time. “By chance, they had received seven new Soapstone plates on this day – of which have not yet been issued,” says Todd. “Incredible, three of the records were exactly what we were looking for. It was a premium property, and the timing was everything: the remaining four plates that were sold within days. Stone of this quality and color is exceptionally rare.”
The outdoor areas of the property were also improved by retaining walls, classification, brick paving and bluestone terraces. All flora, with the exception of trees over 60 years, were replaced. New trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers were planted to attract and nourish local wild animals. Within two months, dozens of new species began to visit every day.
The importance of proper, thoughtful restoration
The restoration, as the monks believe, has returned the house to its original fame. Everything that could be recovered was restored and replacement was tailored to meet the period. The house will be part of this year's annual German village house and garden tour on June 29.
“If we did not restore the house, we thought it was possible that future buyers will remove their original materials and replace them with everything that was fashionable at that time,” says Todd. “If that happened, the house would never be able to really regain its original character. This house deserved to be restored. We knew when we went to this front door for the first time that it was to do it.”
He says that this level of preserved inheritance in the German village is rare all over the country. Too often historical houses are simply rebuilt and transform them into inconspicuous apartments that are trendy at that time.
“This is a historical treasure that we felt passionate about the rescue so that it can be preserved for more than 100 years,” he says. This includes his future owners. The monks plan to sell the property for sale this summer, while they want to move closer to the mountains for skiing and rivers for kayaking.
This story appeared in June 2025 edition of Columbus monthly. Subscribe to here.