There’s Nothing Spooky About This Home in Windy Ghoul Estates

PHOTOS BY EXPOSURE IT REAL ESTATE MEDIA

In 1981, Tom and Jean Dugan were househunting in an area entirely unfamiliar to them with their 18-month-old toddler and 6-week-old baby in tow.

The family was relocating from New Hampshire to Beaver County because Tom, a neurologist, was opening a practice connected to the Beaver Medical Center (now known as AHN Beaver Hospital), which had recently opened after hospitals in Rochester, New Brighton and Beaver Falls merged into one center.

“Our realtor showed us four houses,” recalls Tom of that busy time. “She said, ‘By far and away, the place you want to live is Windy Ghoul.’”

An established community of tree-lined streets and lots that measure at least an acre, Windy Ghoul Estates is full of homes built in the 1930s through the 1950s. To the Dugans, the available ranch home in the neighborhood gave them shivers, in the best way.

“I could be at the hospital in 45 seconds to a minute, but we could also roll down the hill to Beaver in just as much time,” says Tom, who spoke on behalf of the couple. “So the location was excellent for both — and the town of Beaver, as you know, it’s delightful.”

At the time, the home at 135 Windy Ghoul Drive was smaller than it is today; the Dugans have added on to it several times to suit their family’s lives, which grew to include four children. Among the renovations are an updated primary suite with a new bathroom and walk-in closet and a swimming pool complex. There’s also a finished basement and basketball court, which helped make the property a gathering place for the neighborhood.

“Our house was a center point for our kids and their friends on a very regular basis, and our house is extremely kid friendly with respect to size,” says Tom. “There is a large basement, and it has a baseball court. So they used it a lot, as did our friends and their friends and our families. We’ve had as many as 60 people around the pool, and we were not cramped for space.”

The home is now listed for $725,000 by Adam Cannon and Brianna Markham of The Cannon Group at Piatt Sotheby’s International Realty.

“The home has been thoughtfully maintained and improved over the years, including an updated primary bathroom, a newer outdoor pergola and a spacious Trex deck,” says Cannon. “The owners have also expanded the home’s living spaces over time with several huge additions, creating a remarkably versatile floor plan. There are certainly opportunities for a new owner to introduce their own style, particularly in some of the more original interior spaces, but that’s part of the appeal. Buyers can enjoy the home’s character while making it their own.”

Built in 1953, the home is a textbook example of mid-century, one-level design. Measuring 2,800 square feet, including a large, three-stall attached garage, the home has an expansive footprint that sits on more than an acre of land.

Inside, the family room has a vaulted ceiling and walk-up loft, with easy access to the pool area. There’s also a sitting room with a cozy stone fireplace as well as a second fireplace in a more formal living room. Throughout the main living space, hardwood floors, exposed beams and oversized windows tie the separate living zones together.

The formal dining room includes built-in storage space, making it easy to entertain at dinner parties; the Dugans hosted large Christmas Eve dinners for many years. In the roomy kitchen, plenty of seating makes it just as much of a gathering space while meals are prepped and plates are passed around. Stainless steel appliances, rich wood cabinetry and stone counters bring the kitchen into the modern age while blending with the original details of the home.

Down the hall is a sunken primary suite; the updated bathroom includes a double vanity and walk-in glass shower. Three more bedrooms have roomy closets, while an original full bathroom offers the next owner a makeover project, or the opportunity to keep a bit of vintage character.

Cannon says that for buyers curious about this area of the greater Pittsburgh region, it’s worth a drive out to Beaver.

“This home is a rare combination, particularly in one of Beaver County’s most established and desirable neighborhoods,” he says. “Having been owned by the same family for 46 years, there’s also a wonderful sense of history and pride of ownership here. This is a home that was designed to be enjoyed for generations.”

Beside being close to the town of Beaver, the home has easy access to I-376 and is within a 30-minute commute to Pittsburgh.

The Dugans are thankful for the years they spent at the home — recalling the 14-15% interest rates when they bought the property during a season of national turmoil, gas rationing and rising costs. With the wisdom of time and perspective, they noted the ebbs and flows of the market as they made changes, refinanced and added on to the home over the years.

Tom ends with his hopes for the home they lovingly shaped over almost half a century.

“Well, my wife and I, being family-oriented, we’re hoping a young family would consider this a good place to live, and that they can have as much fun and memories and family time as we did,” he says.