Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993 TAG: 9301250237
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
TREASURE TROVE ON THE BLOCK
THE 19th-CENTURY BELONGINGS of "Captain" John Godolphus Osbourne's house on the hill in West Radford will be auctioned today, beckoning antique collectors from all over the East Coast.
No one recalls why they called John Godolphus Osbourne "Captain."
There's no mention of seafaring among the personal papers of this turn-of-the-century business baron.
Evidently the title was ceremonial, a moniker of respect for a captain of industry and a prominent citizen.
The only nautical connection to the man is the large, oval window that Osbourne built into the porch of his Second Street home in 1890. The window is designed like a porthole worthy of John Paul Jones.
You can see that house in an old, faded photograph of West Radford shot from across the New River.
It and several other structures occupy the bare ridges like they just sprouted from the earth in a grandiose fashion.
Another photograph shows the mustached Captain and several other people posing behind the big porch window.
His hand is jauntily stuck in his trousers pocket and a watch fob dangles from his suit vest, a garment that strains to cover his expansive paunch.
That frozen-in-time image was among a trove of old photos and historical papers recently rediscovered in the attic of Osbourne's house.
The entire three-story home - filled with ornate Victorian-era furnishings - seemed more like a museum than a residence, said Leland Little.
"It had an ambiance, like you were walking into an undisturbed time capsule."
Little is managing an auction of Osbourne's belongings this weekend, an event that has attracted attention from antique collectors all along the East Coast.
Their interest was piqued by the quantity and character of Osbourne's stuff. Up to 600 items may be sold by the time the auction concludes Sunday.
Among them are Victorian suites for the dining room, living room, bedroom and study - formidable furniture, heavy on the wood and glass.
There's also artwork, clocks, books, samplers, jewelry, china and glass collections and a crank-it-up Victrola phonograph in fine working order.
Of local interest are the old photographs and documents of Radford's horse-and-buggy days. Little said it took several days to sort through boxes of memorabilia to prepare them for auction.
The Captain died in 1938. Thereafter, only two other people lived in the Second Street house - his wife and, later, her heir - and they apparently liked things as they were.
Some of the furnishings were inherited from Osbourne's father, who was a structural engineer and a wealthy railroad magnate.
The Captain adopted his father's profession and became a big wheel on his own. He arrived in Radford in 1883, when the newly created city was booming thanks to the railroad. When the Norfolk and Western Railway hooked up its tracks from the newly opened coalfields to the main line, Radford became the system's T-joint.
Like mother's milk, the black gold rolled through and nourished the young community. Osbourne was a major player as a division superintendent of the NW.
During that Gilded Age, when America began to develop and flex its industrial muscles, opportunity was limitless - particularly for a man like the Captain, who, by virtue of being a railroad executive, had both status and money. Osbourne got into real-estate development and insurance in Radford, along with civic affairs. He prospered enough to build his big house with the porthole and to fill it with very nice furniture.
The doorbell, activated by pressing a lever in the mouth of a The house, appraised at just under $100,000, is empty and has been on the market since its contents were removed several months ago. You can tell it was impressive in its time, and you can also tell that time was long ago. lion's head figurine, bongs a stately cathedral chime throughout the house. And the Captain had a buzzer beneath the head of his dinner table for fetching the hired help.
Evidently the old boy was too occupied with taking care of business for much of a personal life. He lived alone until 1923, when, at age 72, he married a nurse from Staunton named Virginia Perrow Bailey.
They lived together until 1938, when the Captain set sail on the eternal sea. His wife also lived alone, at least until she became infirm later in life. When Virginia Osbourne died childless in 1966, she willed the house and its contents to Ruth A. Simpson, who, according to court papers, had taken care of Virginia Osbourne.
Simpson, a retired Pulaski County teacher, was the third and last occupant of the Captain's realm. She lived there until recently, when she moved to the extended care facility of Radford Community Hospital.
It's sad in a sense to see Captain Osbourne's proud possessions dispersed in this weekend's auction, which is being conducted by Ken Farmer Realty & Auction Co. of Radford. The issue of what to do with the house and furnishings landed in Radford Circuit Court.
Judge Duane Mink authorized the property's sale last month, over objections of 85-year-old Ruth Simpson and some of her relatives. The ruling supported her executors, who maintained that the value of the unoccupied house and its furnishings was declining with disuse.
The house, appraised at just under $100,000, is empty and has been on the market since its contents were removed several months ago. You can tell it was impressive in its time, and you also can tell that time was long ago. In order for it to be reoccupied, the heating and electrical systems will have to be redone, along with other structural repairs and renovations.
For many years, it has stood intact, almost as if the Captain was expected home for dinner at any moment. But now he's only an image on a faded photograph, about to be sold to the highest bidder.
930123 AUCTION STORY #16512 TOPIC SAT CUR KEYWORDLINE DESK AUTHOR:JHUDSON01/23/93 SATURDAY CURRENT cutlines, PAGE NRV-8 with "house," "clock," "chests" and "captain" photo
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