Holton couple restoring victorian

Behind the weathered exterior of a 148-year-old Victorian-style home on Wisconsin Avenue in Holton, stripped to its studs and marked by time, a new chapter is taking shape – one being rebuilt board by board. 

“When I was little, I always dreamed of a big Victorian, like in ‘Scooby Doo’ on TV with secret passages and bookcases,” said Theresa SparrowSmith, who owns the home with her partner Marshall Barrington. “We’re respecting her spirit and the architectural style.”

That ‘her’ is Isabelle – Holton’s Hollowed Queen, the name given to the house at 425 Wisconsin Ave. by the couple, who purchased the property, a block west of the west side of the Holton Town Square, in August 2024 and are restoring it.

The couple moved from the Denver area to Holton in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic so SparrowSmith could attend Washburn University School of Law. At that time, they purchased a house on New York Avenue in Holton.

“The parades line up right in front of our house,” SparrowSmith said. 

After she graduated, they decided to stay here permanently. 

“I came from small towns like this, so Holton feels like home to me. It’s comfortable,” Barrington said. “Everyone is so friendly. There’s no traffic. There’s no crime.”

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