Morgantown Magazine Fall 2021 Edition

HOUSE & HOME

The Waitman T. Willey House For our April/May 2012 issue, we caught up with Fred Schaupp, who purchased the Waitman T. Willey home in 2008. It was a home Schaupp had always admired but never thought he would have the opportunity to acquire. So when he saw the home’s “for sale” notice in the newspaper, he and his wife had an appointment scheduled with the realtor in a matter of minutes. The Waitman T. Willey house was named after the man who had it built in the late 1800’s: lawyer, U.S. senator, and writer of the Willey Amendment in the West Virginia statehood bill Waitman Thomas Willey. The residence served as Willey’s home as well as his law office, which explains the two entrances on the same side of the structure. The second story and another living room were added later, and the 1900s saw the construction of a garden area and garage. Despite these modern upgrades, however, the home still maintains its historical aesthetic. A Greek Revival portico and unique five-column pediment make sure of that. In a house this historic, the Schaupps couldn’t help but fill it with history from all across the world in the form of books, art, and furniture. “I never bought anything as something that would appreciate in value. I bought something because I thought it was neat,” he told us in 2012. Not one for photographs, Schaupp even displayed commissioned paintings of the family throughout the home. With its 1800s design, walls colored richly in cool tones, eight impressive fireplaces, and multitude of historical artifacts, the home invites visitors to settle in and take in its majesty. High ceilings and expansive main rooms, all filled with items that appear to have come straight from a museum, transport you right into a different time. Elizabeth Vitullo moved into the Willey house with her husband, Christian—son of Fred Schaupp—their two children, and their German shepherd in 2018, with their third child joining the fray in December of that year and a cat and another dog to follow. While they’ve brought in some contemporary artwork and furnishings and converted the sunroom to a home gym, Vitullo says the family is proud to be living in a piece of West Virginia history. They have settled in well, even the pets. “The cat finds so many nooks and crannies,” Vitullo says after laughing over a picture of the feline lounging in a solarium window sill. “He just pops out of random places.” With three kids and three pets bringing new life in, they’re certain that Fred Schaupp and his late wife, Becky, would be happy with the feel of the home now.

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