Jim Whiting is looking for someone who can appreciate an old house and can at least look past bright orange wallpaper.

An 18th-century farmhouse with ties to the son of Richmond founder William Byrd II is on the market after being saved from demolition about three years ago.

The Patteson-Schutte House is believed to be one of the oldest frame structures in Richmond, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. It sits along Kildare Drive in an area of South Side that was once part of 1,000-acre plantation in Chesterfield County, said Whiting, a volunteer with the Historic Richmond Foundation.

"I think it's down to about a quarter-acre now," he said.

The foundation, a nonprofit preservation group, bought the property from a developer and is offering it for $199,000 -- about $33,000 less than what was spent buying and fixing up the house, Whiting said. He and other volunteers have been clearing brush, repairing windows and pulling up layers of rotten linoleum and tile flooring in the basement.

It's unknown when the house was built, but estimates have dated it from 1725, according to a state report. The name is taken from early owners, including James Patteson, who bought the property from Byrd's son, William Byrd III, in 1766.

"While not a grand house, it was a residence of the gentry class, a carefully constructed, distinctly Virginia structure worthy of preservation," the state report says.

Despite additions and changes over the years, the house retains much of its original woodwork, including stairs, doors, door and window frames, chair boards and baseboards. It also features chimneys on each end, plus a basement with exposed hand-cut joists and beams.

Whiting said the property has been vacant for more than two decades, and prospective buyers likely will want to make further upgrades, including to the heating and air-conditioning system. The property comes with restrictions on how it can be altered, as well as the potential for historic tax credits to offset the cost of improvements.

"A lot of people don't want to spend all the money on this," Whiting acknowledged. "It takes a certain kind of person."

He encourages visitors to look past the house's quasi-modern touches, including its 1970s orange bathroom wallpaper that resembles blooming marigolds or exploding fireworks, as well as the aqua-colored paint on a chimney. He finds the paint particularly garish for such a stately home.

"But the basics are there," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.