Just ask Gene Youngblood of Commerce how much work it takes to fix up an old house and he’s not short on words, or skill for that matter. He’s been hired by sisters Barbara Davis, of Commerce Land Company, and Ann Brown, of Monroe, to renovate the 121-year old Dr. MP Alexander home on Bacon Street.  Together with Kent Brown, Ann's husband, the four have been putting in some pretty long hours on the hill in Maysville.

"I started two and a half months ago on the roof and I’ve been working my way down," Youngblood explained. Just the exterior work involved new tin on the roof, stucco on the chimneys, chip shingles on the façade, new gable vents, replacement of fascia boards, new porches and replacement of the front porch flooring, just to name some of the work.

Youngblood refers to the roof on top of Dr. Alexander’s old office annex as the "witch’s hat" because of its unique shape. "I had to raise the roofline on that part and I put some ornamental woodwork around the top to keep the same look," Youngblood added.

And speaking of the gingerbread trim, Youngblood actually recreated and added several more pieces of trim to the house. "All of the teardrops were missing on the gingerbread trim so I added those back. I made a pattern from one piece of the gingerbread and made more pieces from that," Youngblood said. "I love the history in these older homes and I like the thought that I’m bringing back a part of history," he said.

As for the interior, much of the flooring and sub-flooring had to be replaced. Some major changes were made. The inner set of French doors in the foyer was removed to give the foyer a larger look. A doorway was cut from the living room to access the old office annex of the house. The separate exterior entrance on the front of the house to the office annex was enclosed. Some closets were added. The location of the kitchen and bath was changed and a utility room was added. A new porch was built on the rear. New wiring and plumbing were installed.

The size of the house from the road looks deceptively smaller than it actually is. It has an upstairs "hobby room" where quilting was done and a cellar basement where canned goods were stored.

There were two surprise discoveries that brought excitement during the renovation. The transom window over the front door had been painted with gold paint in a curious design that may be Confederate-related or Masonic-related. Also, the name Lilly A. Jackson, daughter of Dr. MP Alexander, was etched on a windowpane in the living room.

Although the house is not being restored to original condition because of the enormous expense that would be involved, co-owner Barbara Davis says she’s trying to keep a lot of the originality of the house. "We've stripped and refinished several of the original mantels ourselves, and we've been patching plaster and painting all over.  Some of the rooms that were later added on to the house will have new sheetrock walls but several of the original rooms will retain the plaster walls," Davis added.. "We’re trying to make it livable again and it’s already costing more than I expected it would, but ideas pop up in the middle of something and I just say go ahead and do it," Davis said. Even though they plan to sell the house after it’s fixed up, she admits she has grown attached to the charm of the house. "We're putting together a scrapbook on the history of the house and we plan to give it to the new owner when it’s sold," Davis said.