Cheney-Seger home survives floods, foreclosure

At the corner of N.W. Harrison and Morse streets in North Topeka, the Cheney-Seger Residence at 1132 N.W. Harrison has survived floods, foreclosure and a gas station and convenience store next door to remain one of the stateliest residences north of the Kansas River.

Built in 1895 by architect F.H. Travers at a cost of $3,000, its architectural influence is Folk Victorian with Eastlake details, a style popular during the mid- to late-1800s. This description refers to the home’s ornate woodwork features, including lathe-turned spindle posts, balustrades and railings, and scroll-sawn cornices, especially prominent on the porch.

The two-story red brick structure boasts a white, 10-pillared veranda porch, which winds around the front and north sides of the house. In addition to the main front door, a second exterior access door, this one paneled in stained glass, at the front of the house would have allowed residents to come and go without walking through formal living spaces.

“It seemed like a red brick castle to me, and I liked the idea of feeling like I was living in a castle,” said current owner RJ Longren.

Longren purchased the home in January of this year and lives there with his parents, Detective Sgt. Don Longren, a retired 28-year veteran of the Topeka Police Department, and his wife, Linda.

The Longrens are lifelong Topeka residents, and RJ proudly claims the title of fourth-generation Topekan. His great-great uncle, AK Longren, was the first aviator in Kansas. He built small biplanes, and one of them hangs in the Kansas Museum of History.

“I feel like I’m eyeball deep in history, even when I leave the town,” said Longren.

A graduate of Topeka High School, Longren attended Washburn University before joining the military after 9/11. Longren returned to Topeka to care for his ailing parents. The family required a home that would allow handicap accessibility.

“We picked up a distressed property near Topeka High School, but it needed a ton of work,” said Longren. “We needed something bigger and more handicap-friendly, and we felt really blessed and lucky when we found this house.”

Longren’s favorite features are the second floor balcony on the north side of the house and the barn, which sits at the back of the property and includes the original loft and added lean to.

“I love the barn,” said Longren. “There’s just something about it.”

To date, the Longrens have installed a ramp for accessibility and have plans to add landscaping and an iron fence along the perimeter of the property, which will provide needed privacy without obstructing the public’s view of this Topeka landmark.

“At this point, I’m taking care of my parents, but I am looking forward to getting into the yard with the nicer weather,” said Longren.

Longren's deep love of history has inspired him to research the house and its past owners extensively and to petition to have the Cheney-Seger Residence officially placed on the national and state registers of historic places.

“We need to continue to talk about history,” Longren said.

The house was originally built for H.W. Cheney and his wife, Jennie. Located on the edge of what was known as the Curtis Addition, referring to land donated by the Curtis family for the purpose of settling North Topeka, the property also included a barn and outbuildings.

Construction was delayed because of the differing religious beliefs of the building contractor and Mrs. Cheney. The contractor belonged to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which observes the Sabbath on Saturday, and Mrs. Cheney wouldn't allow him to work on Sundays, so work had to be completed Monday through Friday.

Henry Warren Cheney was a dairyman by trade and sold dairy implements for a living. According to one newspaper article from 1888, Cheney drove his milk wagon between North Topeka and the Santa Fe Depot each day to attend to his customers.

As the story goes, Cheney had gotten out of his wagon one day when his horses were spooked and began to run toward home. While crossing the bridge into North Topeka, the wagon tongue broke in two, throwing all of the day's milk cans out of the wagon.

Cheney, a progressive thinker, worked during his lifetime to raise the standard of livestock, writing articles for farm journals and farmers’ institutes on the subject. His house was no exception to his progressive tendencies, and he had it wired for telephone service when it was built — cutting-edge technology for the time.

The 1903 flood that devastated North Topeka affected the Cheneys financially and physically as they worked to restore their home and business. Four feet of mud had to be pumped from the house’s stone basement.

When Henry Cheney died on June 14, 1904, his obituary remembered him as a man who “[worked] for the betterment of the community in which he lived.” Cheney was laid to rest close to his North Topeka roots in Rochester Cemetery.

Following his death, the property, along with the house, was willed to the Topeka Orphan’s Home. Longren has reason to believe this may have occurred to avoid a familial dispute over ownership.

The Topeka Orphan’s Home didn’t use the property for residential purposes, but instead sold it for profit to Enoch Seger and his wife, Marian, who in 1904 became the house’s third owners.

An article from the archives of The Topeka Daily Capital newspaper, dated Sept. 11 of that year, announces the Cheney property was purchased by E.C. Seger of Central Avenue. According to the article, Seger was a cashier of the Merriam Mortgage Company, had lived in North Topeka for 20 years and “[had] faith in its future.”

The Cheney house was described as “one of the best in North Topeka,” and it isn’t difficult to imagine why.

Intricately carved features carry into the interior of the house in the form of window and door cornices worked in geometric designs of raised wood. Carved gingerbread details frame the entry to each room, and a staircase that leads to the second-floor landing above is a testament to the period’s focus on craftsmanship.

The placement of a window that was likely added years after construction gives Longren reason to believe the staircase may have been altered at some point, and perhaps once extended farther north, making for a grand entrance into the front foyer.

Hardwood floors throughout the first level of the house have been stripped and refinished, and numerous built-in cabinets and pocket doors with original hardware date the house to the period in which it was built.

Longren believes the kitchen was probably remodeled sometime between the 1920s and 1940s as evidenced by the painted woodwork and brick veneer on the walls.

An original fireplace in the front room is designed in a hand-carved leaf motif and repeated in the tile, which is in remarkably good condition for its age. The intact mirror above the mantel has reflected the images of many owners over the years, each one adding his or her personal history to the history of the house and to the history of the city of Topeka.

“Topeka fluctuates. There are times when Topeka has been the most progressive city in various time periods. I would like to see Topeka take the opportunity to welcome more people of a diverse nature into the city,” Longren said. “What’s going on in Topeka is a good reflection of what’s going on in the rest of the country. When you sift through the history, you see it.”

Shanna Sloyer is a freelance writer from Topeka. She can be reached at ssloyer@yahoo.com.