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A Victorian showplace
For almost 30 years, Karen Chaplin has been getting to know John H. Starin and the home and property he loved high above the Mohawk River a few hundred yards east of the village of Fultonville.
“He was an incredible man who built this incredible estate for himself and his family,” said Chaplin, who bought Starin Place in 1983 and has been slowly restoring the Victorian mansion along with the other buildings on the grounds.
“I fell in love with it, and I knew it had to be saved. But over the years, it’s been misused. It needs kind of a gentle approach.” Posted on May 20, 2012.
John H. Starin, a two-term U.S. congressman, built this home in Fultonville in 1878. (Bill Buell/ Gazette Reporter)
Starin Place, built in 1878, was purchased by Karen Chaplin in 1983 and has been undergoing renovation ever since. This view shows the eastern wall and the back porch. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
The back porch of Starin Place, built in 1878, is now used as the main entrance into the home of former U.S. Congressman John H. Starin. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
Karen Chaplin looks at one of the model steamboats on display at Starin Place in Fultonville. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
This griffin, a mythological creature from ancient Greece, is one of the many ornate items on display at Starin Place in Fultonville. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
The main hallway of Starin Place in Fultonville has undergone considerable renovation since Karen Chaplin purchased the property in 1983. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
This children's playhouse is on the grounds of Starin Place in Fultonville. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
This idealized image of former U.S. Congressman John H. Starin of Fultonville is one of many ornate items sculpted onto an urn located just outside the main house at Starin Place. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
