Milton

The Gerlach House stood on the present site of the Church in the Valley near Milton. We know little of its history except that it was built in 1859 and was used as an early stage coach stop. it was purchased in 1962 from Clay Beckett by Jack Pancake. The house contained nine rooms - each 19 feet by 19 feet, with the interior walls being 18 inches thick. There were two additional rooms (with a separate stairway) in the rear of the house. These have been assumed to be maids' quarters. this photo was passed on from the Becketts to the Pancakes. We do not have the identification of the persons in the photo. Note the children on the porch roof and the man holding the pont in the front yard. The scene appears to have been taken around the turn of the 20th Century. While the farm was owned by the Pancakes the history department of Marshall University visited the house to record the size and shape of the hand-cut stones which formed the basement. The Pancakes sold the house and farm in 1970 to J. E. Clagg, who then sold it to the Church in the Valley.