Job Case's houuse in Little Valley for sale

[Gunsil]

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandho ... 12?view=qv

I had mentioned a month or more ago that Job Case's house in Little Valley, NY might come on the market and now it has. The backyard to this house was also the site of the Case Bros factory before it burned down. I have been there a couple times and have been inside, it is in pretty nice condition. Perfect place for an avid Case collector to retire to or open a museum. The wide angle lens does make it look larger than it is.

[jmh58]

Its a shame that Zippo Dude wont get off his money and buy this.. The CASE history here is unbelievable..
John

[1967redrider]

That would be a million $$$ house here in Alexandria, especially with the acerage. It says it would be a modest 6 hour and 2 minute commute for me.

[woodwalker]

That is a great price for that fabulous historic house!

[Gunsil]

And it's only about 35-40 minutes to Bradford, PA and 15 to Salamanca, NY and the casino and the big antiques mall. 15 minutes to Springville where you can eat at the restaurant in the still standing Case bros Springville factory. Only a short ride to the town of Cattaraugus, and 40 minutes to the KA-BAR/Cutco factory in Olean, NY. This IS the heart of old knife country!

[ea42]

Crazy coincidence; The Case house (and initial factory) was on Fair Oak Street in Little Valley, and I live on Fair Oaks Rd in Middletown, NY and am in the process of starting up a (teeny) cutlery company alongside my house as well. That's kind of wild!

Eric

[herbva]

Interesting that it sold in 06 for $59K and is now listed for $150K. Looks like a lot of interior improvements have been made. That would be such a cool house to own!

[rea1eye]

Maybe a former Case worker can buy it!'

Bob

[1967redrider]

Brenda loves the interior, but that commute would kill me quickly.

[kootenay joe]

That is a really nice looking house, inside & out, plus on 2 1/2 acres. To me $150,000 seems far too low. In small town Canada a place like this would be $500,000, or more depending on location of the community. This sounds crazy, but i am tempted ! The place speaks to me and my knives would feel at home
kj

[orvet]

Wow!
Compared to property prices here in Oregon that is dirt cheap!
A 3 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath, 15,000 Sq ft ranch on a small lot in my neighborhood goes for about $250,000 or more & thats a 30 to 40 year old house.
It amazes me that houses are so inexpensive in some areas go the country.

[Gunsil]

I inherited my aunt's brick victorian house in Allen, MI seven years ago and turned it back to the bank because she owed 60 grand on it. She had run it as a four bedroom bed and breakfast and had put a lot of money into restoration. Six months later the bank held an auction for the house. Opening bid was $35,000 and NOBODY even bid. Here it would be a million dollar home. They did eventually sell it through a realtor but I think they maybe got their 60 grand back. Location, location, location.

I think the Job Case house will sell for a good bit less than asking. Little Valley is a nice little town with only one bar but there isn't a lot of work available close by. Roland, were you to buy it I would certainly take the six hour drive out to visit you!! Barry's daughter lives an hour away, I am sure Barry would visit you too. There are some large old grinding stones down in the stream, I don't know if they were from the Case Bros factory or not. I bet somebody with a metal detector could find such things as handle scales and bolsters left from the factory fire.

Up the street are the houses of the other Case bros and the W R Case house which belongs to the state may be torn down soon due to it being on state property and needing roof work. The town is trying to get it from the state for a museum, but the town doesn't have a lot of money for such a project and so far the state isn't going for it. Anybody interested in more info on the W R house should contact the Little Valley town board or town historian.

Naturally, Tint Champlin and his sons' houses are in Little Valley as well as the house where Wallace and Emerson Brown who would start Union Cut Co/KA-BAR grew up. The Champlins and all the Case family rest in the town cemetery as do the Brown brothers' parents. The remains of the Cattaraugus factory are within walking distance of the Case houses and so is the cemetery. The people I have met in LV are quite friendly and it seems like a nice quiet community to live in.

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

I think one of the issues of an area with many historic locations is that the state & local governments simply can't afford to maintain all of them. I suspect this is particularly true in the Northeast USA. Let's face it, something like a Case Brother's house would only appeal to knife knerds like us - it probably wouldn't be on anyone's top-ten list of tourist sites in New York state.

Here's a fun fact: According to Wikipedia, the median income for Little Valley, NY is $31K. The media income for Alexandria, VA is $80.8K. That is certainly going to affect the housing market - and also the tax base available for government activities like maintaining historic sites.

[Mumbleypeg]

It’s a shame there is so little appreciation for historic buildings and architecture.

In the 1970s there was a historical old home available for sale in a nearby town here. The home was built in the 1840’s by a wealthy farmer, and over the next century was occupied by several generations of the family. But eventually the heirs sold the property to a developer who was building a shopping center on the site, with plans to demolish the home.

Of particular interest was a diary found in the house, which was written by one of the women during the time of and following the Civil War. In it are described scenes where both the Confederate and Union armies at different times camped on the yard surrounding the house (the Yankees ate all the peaches from the orchard ). After the war Jesse James once stayed the night at the house. Somewhere I have a copy of a newspaper article about the house and family, including photographs of the house and diary.

The local historical association intervened with the result being that the developer offered to give the house to anyone who would pay to have it moved. The house was large and estimated cost to move it at that time was $20,000. No takers. Parts of the house were salvaged and are on display in a museum but the remainder was destroyed. The shopping center stands today on the site, and thousands of people go there without any knowledge of what once was there.

I hope that fate doesn’t befall the historical homes of Little Valley, NY.

KEN

[kootenay joe]

Quote TFL: "something like a Case Brother's house would only appeal to knife knerds like us - it probably wouldn't be on anyone's top-ten list of tourist sites in New York state."
N.Y. State has a lot going for it and the 'top ten' tourist sites must be very special places. But the 'Case' family of knife manufacturers is certainly the most widely know of all USA knife manufacturers. $150,000 is peanuts for those who invest in real estate. I think a knife museum along with tours to the many other nearby historic knife sites could be profitable in the right hands.
Small town Canada is a great place to live. For the most part friendly honest people who believe in 'live & let live' and houses & property prices are a fraction of what they are in large cities. I bet small town USA is similarly a fine place to live. Many who now live in rural areas work in a wide range of businesses via computer & internet.
What i am getting at is this home in Little Valley would also be a great place for a young couple to raise a family and preserve the house in it's current well maintained condition.
After about 200 years of people moving rural to urban, now is a good time to go the other way. Small town living is now the best.
kj

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

Well sure, small towns are great, but for many young couples today the #1 criteria for where to live is how close the house is to the nearest Starbucks...

[1967redrider]

I wonder if this house is still on the market? I doubt it is since COVID caused a mass urban exodus. I have a little over 3 years until retirement, but I don't think NY State would like my firearms . . .