One of the most stunning historic homes in Milford is the Vaules Draper home, located at 200 Lakeview Avenue. Currently the home of Dave and Dawn Kenton, the house was built in 1872 by William Thornton Vaules. Over the years, it has become known as the Draper house as it was the home of the late Thomas Draper for many years.
The house was originally built in the Victorian Gothic style. It was remodeled in the early 20th century with elements of Queen Anne and Classic Revival building traditions. Vaules and his wife purchased the land from William Frederick Causey, constructing the home so it overlooked Silver Lake and Parson Thorne’s peninsula-dam.
Today, the house is a two-story, five-bay, center-hall plan frame house on a raised brick foundation. The house exhibits a blend of different architectural forms. The house appears on the 1885 Bailey and Company Pictorial Atlas of Milford. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its excellent representation of the growth and economic development of Milford.
After the Civil War, Milford experienced a boom as the result of increased agricultural production and the shipbuilding industry.
Vaules was the son of John R. and Ann T. Vaules. He had three sisters, Sara Ann Vaules Sutcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Vaules Creed and Elmira “Ella” Vaules Reeves. His first wife, Clementine Harrington Todd Vaules, who he married in 1850, died in 1865. He then married Sarah Margaret Minors Vaules. He had three children with his first wife, William S. and Harry T., both born in 1852 and Delaware Vaules, born in 1858. He then had two children with his second wife, Anna Vaules Carlisle, born in 1867 and Ella Vaules Grier, born in 1871.
Vaules was the station agent for the Junction & Breakwater Railroad. A station agent was one of the most important employees in a railroad town like Milford. In towns where the railroad was an important method of transporting freight, the station agent served as the railroad’s representative, freight manager, ticket seller, telegrapher and often the unofficial information center.
Because the main economy in Milford was agriculture, a station agent’s work could determine whether a farmer’s peaches or tomatoes reached markets before spoiling. In addition, Vaules would have been responsible for selling tickets to passengers, answering questions about train schedules, handling baggage and arranging express shipments.
It is apparent that the Vaules family became prominent citizens in Milford. On April 19, 1864, the Delaware Gazette reported that plans were underway for the Centennial Fair with Vaules appointed to the Cash Contributions Committee along with other prominent Milfordians, including Henry Fiddeman, Peter F. Causey, Daniel Currey, T. F. Hammersley, A.K. Hall and James H. Deputy.
Vaules likely did not earn a high salary as the station agent, but it allowed him and his family to live a comfortable middle-class life. However, research indicates that Vaules rose through the ranks of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad. In1874, he is named in a newspaper article about shipments at the railroad as the “superintendent,” a position he was promoted to in 1872. In 1875, he was appointed treasurer of the railroad at the annual meeting. Vaules was elected treasurer for several years after his initial election.
One interesting story that appeared in the Smyrna Times on July 23, 1873, reported that during a thunderstorm a week earlier, a lightning strike on the telegraph lines in Houston passed along the wire to Milford.
“Breaking down and shivering into kindling-wood nineteen poles,” the report read. “The current was interrupted in the office at Milford by a non-conductor that happened to be in position, and passing out through the office window it exploded with a terrific report in front of the railroad depot. Mr. Vaules, the operator, was just about receiving a message at the time when the connection of the battery was destroyed and the registering paper set on fire. Mr. V. experienced a slight shock but fortunately was not seriously injured.”
Dr. G. Layton Grier married the Vaules’ daughter, Ella, in 1895 and they moved into the home. Grier was a young dentist at the time, eventually becoming partners with his brother in the L.D. Caulk Company.
Vaules died in 1906 and his obituary indicates how he had risen in Milford society. The obituary notes he was the first station agent of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad at Milford and that he served as treasurer for many years with the Delaware Maryland and Virginia Railroad. Documents indicate Vaules was on the retired list of the company for several years. He was also a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Milford.
The Grier’s transformed the basic home into a Victorian mansion. Grier added leaded glass windows, molded plaster walls, parqueted floors, balconies and towers were added to the existing structure to make the home a showplace for Grier, who was then the president of L.D. Caulk Company. The couple raised a son, Vaules, and two daughters, Margaret and Anne in the home.
Ella Grier added formal gardens along with a 24-column pergola in Victorian style. After the death of the Grier’s, their daughters donated the home to the hospital for a nurses’ residence from 1948 to 1953. In 1953, the hospital sold the home to Roland and Sarah Beauchamp, who lived there until Sarah’s death in 1977 when it was purchased by the late Tom Draper.
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