A slice of Highlands history is up for sale in Moss Vale.
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Built in the 1920s, 'Tarrangower', located on the corner of Valetta Street and Elizabeth Street has been put on the market for the first time in 25 years.
Owner Jan King said the house was built for Mrs Schofield and was reputedly built by prominent Highlands builder Alf Stephens.
"Alf was a well-known builder and built a lot of the iconic homes in the Southern Highlands," she said.
However, according to local rumours, the house may have been built by someone else entirely.
"Mrs Schofield's son was also a builder, Albert Schofield," Jan said.
"The rumour is that he built the house for his mother. So we're not sure whether Albert Schofield built it or Alf Stephens built it.
"Everybody says that Alf Stephens built Karingal, and they say that Alf Stephens built here, but we're not certain that that was the case.
"When we moved here 25 years ago some of the old chaps down at the pub where my husband used to drink told him that it was built by Mr Schofield.
"I can't honestly say to you who built it, but I do know that the first occupant was Mrs Schofield."
Adding to the history of the property is a map that Jan has which dates back to 1937.
"The map has Mrs Schofield's name on it, and it was when the sewer was connected," Jan said.
"She lived here before the sewer was connected, and she was the first occupant in the house.
"After the war, it was purchased by the Rural Bank. A lot people around Moss Vale refer to this as the bank house."
According to Jan, the Rural Bank owned the property for several years and had used it as a holiday home for their managers.
"Their top executives had a country holiday home, but they also used it at some stage for their local managers," she said.
By the time Jan and her husband purchased the home, the house had passed from the bank to another resident.
'Tarrangower' boasts an impressive formal living room with a period fireplace and ornate ceilings throughout the house.
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One room does have a new ceiling.
"The ceilings in the place are absolutely beautiful," Jan said.
"I had a new ceiling installed in the kitchen.
"But the rest of the house is beautiful."
The house itself remains in good condition with the original building untouched. Jan said an extension was added to the back of the property to accommodate a laundry and to add a sunroom.
"Except the sunroom, the skirting boards, the picture frames, the doors, the door handles, everything is exactly as it was," she said.
"The veranda went all the way around in a U shape and when we bought the house, part of the verandah had been closed in and there were windows in it.
"A few years ago, I had that converted into a dressing room and an ensuite off the main bedroom because the space was there.
"There wasn't any alteration to the building."
The house also has an interesting connection to Jan's family and Mt Gibraltar.
"One interesting thing about the house is that the fence is trachyte and it was quarried from Mt Gibraltar," she said.
"It was cut by stonemasons up there, and one of them was my father. But I don't know whether he had anything to do with the fence.
"It may well be that my father had a hand in creating the fence."
The house is listed with Drysdale Real Estate.
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