The main hallway of Starin Place in Fultonville has undergone considerable renovation since Karen Chaplin purchased the property in 1983. (Bill Buell/Gazette Reporter)
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.”