From The Archives

1889 Victorian: Second Empire

Chapline Street Row Historic District
Wheeling, West Virginia

The Ackermann / Swords House

Bedrooms: 13
Full Bath(s): 6
Heated Sq. Ft.: 6000
Stories: 3


Listing #: 1996

• 1st Floor Bath
• 1st Floor Bedroom
• Attic
• Den
• Dining room
• Entry Hall
• Foyer
• Kitchen
• Laundry Room
• Living room
• Turret
• Unfinished Basement
• Utility Room
• 1 Car Garage
• Fenced Yard
• Fresh paint
• Garden
• Pond
• Restored exterior
• Carpet
• Ceiling Fans
• Ceramic Tile
• Claw-foot Tub(s)
• Fireplace(s)
• Gas Logs
• Grand staircase
• Pocket Doors
• Wood floors
• City sewer
• City water supply
• Dishwasher
• Disposal
• Gas heating
• Range
• Refrigerator
• Water Heater - Gas
• Master bedroom upstairs
• Slate Roof

The Ackermann/Swords House, built in 1889, is Second Empire in style and located in the historic Chapline Street Row district of Wheeling, WV. It was built by Dr. Gregory Ackermann, and designed by architect Edgar Wells. Dr.Ackermann was a prominent surgeon who emigrated to Wheeling in 1880.

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The Ackermann/Swords House
This elegant home built in 1889 is situated in Chapline Street Row Historic District
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The Gregory Ackermann House

The Ackermann-Swords House is located in Chapline Street Row Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic places. It is one of eight high-style Victorian houses located there, all built in the late 1800's.

The house was built by Dr. Gregory Ackermann, a German immigrant, in 1889, and displays a proliferation of Victorian elements popular at that time. The tall, original front doors are oak on the outside facade and cherry on the inside; they open into an oval shaped entry foyer with octagon ceramic floor tile. The facade boasts a turret and a Juliet balcony. Most of the interior floors are the original pine and have been restored (as of 2007). The large main hallway contains a large pocket door opening to the left side of the first floor; and double, 10 feet tall pocket doors between the first floor parlors.

The first and second floor of the house have been completely restored. All electrical, plumbing, heating and roofs have been replaced. The 3rd floor was originally a ballroom but at some point was converted into 2 apartments. Plumbing and electric are newly "roughed-in" on the 3rd floor, and the windows have been replaced with new, historically correct windows.

The left side of the 1st floor was originally used as a medical practice by the original owner and that area is now used as an income producing rental. The rear wing on 2nd floor also produces income as an apartment, with separate utilities. Both apartments are currently rented, with an excellent rental history. The owners' quarters consist of a large entry hall with original staircase, 2 parlors, dining room, bathroom, kitchen and utility room on 1st floor; a master suite on 2nd floor with 3 bedrooms, bath, and a sitting room. The home has a dry, useable basement with high ceilings. You will find a brick courtyard in the back, with a 2 story brick carriage house that is currently under renovation.

This home has great ambience and history.

Chapline Street Row Historic District

Chapline Street Row Historic district is comprised of 8 Victorian structures on the West side of the 2300 block of Chapline street, from 2301 Chapline to 2321 Chapline. It is a neighborhood of large homes built by wealthy Wheeling merchants and professionals in the late 1800’s, at which time Wheeling was among the largest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains and a gateway to the West. Chapline Street Row is considered to be one of the most important , intact rows of Victorian structures in West Virginia, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This row of Victorian buildings is held in high esteem by National and State groups, such as the Library of Congress, the National Register of Historic Places, and the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office. Chapline Street Row is listed in the book, “Buildings of West Virginia“, printed in 2004, with pictures and measured drawings. They describe it as “a wonderful concentration of Victorian period architecture; Center Wheeling’s most complete nineteenth-century residential block“. It is listed on the website of Second Empire Architecture under “Notable Second Empire Buildings in North America”, along with such famous buildings as Boston‘s Old City Hall, and New York City’s Courthouse and Post Office. Wheeling Today describes it as “A small district of fine examples of 19th century Victorian architecture, mainly built by successful German immigrants.” It was described on the website of American Journeys RV Travel in 2003 as a “place worth seeing” . They described the buildings as some of Wheeling’s most historic homes, and went on to say, “one of the things that makes these 8 buildings special is that it is unusual to find this many high style Victorian buildings still standing in a consecutive row as they did when they were built”.