GREEN COVE SPRINGS – When Daniel and Noell Jett bought the house at 700 Walnut St., they expected the makeover to take less than a year.

But the more they worked at the 135-year-old Victorian home, the more meticulous they became. Soon, a year turned into 18 months. Then two years. Then to 30 months.

Now it’s done, and it’s a masterpiece of historic charm wrapped with modern amenities.

The original plan was to turn what is commonly known as the Wilcox Manor into a short-term rental property. That changed when the couple who restore older properties through @jettsetfarmhouse became emotionally attached to the project.

“We did it right because it’s a passion,” Daniel said. “We absolutely love to restore old houses. It’s funny. This project was supposed to take us 10 to 12 months, and here we are nearly three years later.”

What took time was the focus on restoring most of the original materials, such as the pine floors, chimneys, fireplaces, selected lighting fixtures and stairwells.

“We did a lot more than most,” Daniel said on maintaining most of the home’s authenticity.

Time and neglect had rendered the home nearly unsavable. Support beams were rotted, and the structure teetered on collapse. When the Jetts bought it, they decided to work on it together and occasionally use company employees instead of hiring a full-time crew. Walls needed to be replaced. Passersby often wondered what was happening at the house, especially when they’d see Daniel working with a baby strapped to his back.

If not for the Jetts, the historic home would likely have been bulldozed and paved into a parking lot. Not only did the city gain a home valued at nearly $1.4 million, but it also maintained a significant piece of its history.

“We had the baby in September and bought the house in November. We had a lot going on,” Noell said. “It was quite the project. It wasn’t just a renovation, it was a labor of love – a restoration of not just a house, but the stories it holds.”

The home was initially built as a one-story home in 1890 by the J.L. Kirkpatrick family. It became home to Mayor Calvin Wilcox in 1995, and it remained in the Wilcox family until his wife, Patricia, sold it to the Jetts on Nov. 7, 2022.

Daniel said sometime in the 1920s or 1930s, the Wilcoxes added a second floor. The Jetts recrafted much of the interior, and it’s now listed on the real estate market as a 2,433-square-foot home with four bedrooms, three baths, a detached garage and an outside sauna on a triple lot.

“The Kirkpatricks had a daughter who got married to a Wilcox, and it’s been in the same family since,” Daniel said. “I’m the first person to purchase the house outside the family. It’s been handed down from generation to generation for 132 years.

“The property was too much for [Patricia Wilcox] to take care of, and her daughter didn't have any interest in it, so my wife and I bought it. We just absolutely fell in love with it, and we've been restoring it top to bottom, pretty much with an open checkbook.”

While the project was laborious, tedious and expensive, Noell said the most significant challenge was creating a modern kitchen without losing its Victorian character.

“We spent two days lining blue tape on the floor, going over ideas,” Daniel said. “Noell wanted an island in the kitchen, and we had to think of a way to make it work. She created the island, and she came up with what turned out to be a great kitchen.”

“It’s my favorite room in the house,” Noell said.

The couple had an open house on Friday, July 18. Many stopped because they were curious to see what the couple, who sometimes worked with a baby strapped to their back, had created. Others came to see the home as a potential place to live or an investment opportunity. Regardless, all were impressed with the attention to the tiniest of details, especially staying true to most of the house’s 135-year original materials.

“I've been in the contracting business for 18 years now,” Daniel said. “We took a little longer, but restoration is kind of my passion. History in architecture is our passion.”

In the process, Green Cove Springs didn’t move forward with another parking lot without blinking. It stopped long enough to preserve an essential piece of its past.