David Wyninger moved from Sulphur to Lake Charles because of his children. They were about to begin attending St. Louis High School.

“I didn’t want them driving over the bridge twice a day,” David said.

David and his wife, Christine, purchased a 3,000-square-foot historic downtown two-story on the northeast corner of Common and Cleveland Street.

“I majored in history,” Christine said. “I thought I loved history and the idea of preserving an old house, but David’s even more into history and historic preservation than I am.”

“I have always been intrigued by the age and history of these old Lake Charles homes,” David said, “but when I bought this one, my first question was, ‘Who built it and when? My curiosity got the best of me. The search was on.”

David dug deeply into the house’s history. He possesses the original abstract.

“Finding that abstract has been the best find, so far, while during the research,” David said. “It’s pre-1910. Those are very rare because of the fire.”

He also located property records, visited McNeese archives, talked with an ancestor of the original owner and corresponded with a man who grew up visiting the house as a boy.

“The only thing that I haven’t been able to find is an old photograph of the house,”David said. “I’m still looking.”

Based on the information he collected, he compiled a timeline for the property, the house and it’s original owner.

He’s even “dug into” the property literally and discovered antique elixir and baby bottles, among other finds.

The property was purchased in 1895 for $250 from Joseph W. Rich. At that time, Lake Charles was still called Charlestown. Construction began in 1895, and the house took over a year to build. On April 24, 1895, the new owner, J. H. Tuttle, closed on his mortgage of $220.58 with the Locke-Moore & Co. Ltd

Floors, fireplaces mantles, pocket doors and all but one window are original to the house. The house is constructed of cypress. The cedar shake shingles are under the tile roof. The Wyninger house is the only house facing true west on the street, also an indication of its early origins.

In his quest to learn all there was to know about the house, David learned quite a bit about the original owner, J.H. Tuttle.

The man was a prominent Lake Charles businessman, a Mason and one of the parish founders of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.

Tuttle was born in Port Chester, Long Island, NY, according to David. He was raised in New Haven and Bridgeport, Conn., lived in Michigan, lived in Missouri and moved to Lake Charles with his wife, Mary, in 1894. He was 41.

His occupation was blacksmith and buggy/wagon maker and the shop was at the corner of Cole and Iris streets.

In the February 25, 1899 issue of the Lake Charles Daily, David found this article about Tuttle’s craft.

“New delivery wagons are very fashionable this month, and the style and quality of the new affairs are improvements over what are seen on our streets.”

The Lakeside Steam Laundry displayed its new wagon built by Tuttle and D. Shontell. Henry Becker painted the business’s name on the side.

Tuttle’s name – and his wife’s name — was found in various newspaper articles.

But it was the serendipitous discovery of Tuttle’s name in the sidewalk during a workout that surprised David.

“I had gone running and was coming up Bilbo on the south side of the old city hall and there was his name,” David said, “at the corner of Iris and Cole where his old blacksmith shop was.”

While David was doing his research, he found out that an operator at a local industrial plant was Tuttle’s great grandson.

“He called him PawTut,” and said he remembered his great grandfather was a “huge mason,” David said.

David was able to fill Tuttle’s great grandson in on a few details and his great grandfather.

Tuttle was a 32nd degree Mason and one of the oldest Masons in the sate, according to the obituary in the May 27, 1932 American Press obituary. He held offices with all of the Mason groups. He was a Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He was a past patron of the Eastern Star and past master of the Blue Lodges. He was a charter member of the Ruth chapter, Eastern Star.

“In 1900, J.H. Tuttle, worshipful master, appointed a building committee composed of L. Daufman, C.D. Moss, W.E. Patterson and I. Viterbo to help oversee the construction of a new Mason hall. A new two-story brick building was completed and dedicated in 1910 at a cost of approximately $30,000.

In 1899, Tuttle sold the 1221 Common Street house to Martha Landry. The house stayed in the Landry family until 1995.

This same family was instrumental in donating and building the Louisiana

Baptist Orphanage, the site of St. Louis High School campus and the J.R. Landry Memorial School. The school was close to where Coyote Blues is today.

In 1995, the home was purchased by David Leeland Jones, owner of Kaough & Jones Electrical Contractors.

“The house was rewired at this time,” David said. “It remained knob and tube until then.”

David keeps a busy schedule with his full time job and workouts. He has participated in the Race Across America, billed as “The World’s Toughest Bicycle Race.” He taught himself how to work on his historical home in a manner that retains its integrity by watching U-Tube videos.

“I contacted a guy from Oregon who took the time to answer some of my questions,” David said.

He has completely dismantled and rebuilt windows and removed layers of paint from wood trim, mantles and doors.

“A home is what you make it,” David said.

He’s not just referring to his efforts to remove years of paint that prevented the windows of 1221 Common Street from being opened and closed.

A home is the comfort of a place, the layout and even the neighborhood, according to David.

“The central location to Catholic schools, downtown dining and entertainment, the neighbors, all of these make this house a unique joy and wonderful home.”

On April 25