Earl Hamner Jr. created The Waltons based on his childhood home in Schuyler, Virginia. He died in March 2016
Three long-time fans of the 1970s television show The Waltons have purchased creator Earl Hamner Jr.’s childhood home.
The home served as the inspiration for the show, which was set in fictional Jefferson County, Virginia. Hamner also provided voiceovers in The Waltons
The house is actually located in Schuyler, Virginia. The home used in the show is a set built in California.
The home was purchased for $249,000.
Ray Castro had been a friend of Hamner’s for 25 years. He first visited the childhood home over 20 years ago and said to his sister: ‘One day, I want to own this house.’Castro and two co-producers of the documentary Earl Hamner Storyteller, Kirstin DeMaio and Carole Johnson, first learned the house was for sale in May.
The house had been added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2004.
‘Our main concern was that somebody was going to purchase the house and make it a private residence where it was not available to the fans, to the Hamner family or the cast of The Waltons, Castro told The News & Advance. ‘We wanted to make sure that for the Hamner family, this is still their home.’
Carole Johnson (left), Ray Castro (center) and Kirstin DeMaio (right) purchased Earl Hamner’s childhood home. They have been long-time fans of the show The Waltons
The three coworkers formed The Waltons Hamner House LLC. Their first two bids were not successful, but they secured the house on their third try.
‘It’s very important to us to continue Earl’s legacy as well as the legacy of the Hamner family,’ Johnson said, ‘… and we want [fans of the show] to know that the house is going to continue in the same fashion that they’ve known it.’
The trio plans to keep the house open to the public as a museum
The three people all co-produced a documentary about Earl Hamner together called Earl Hanmer Storyteller
They plan to keep the house near-identical to its original designs. However, they do plan to remove a tree near the house to display a 1929 Ford like the one seen in the Waltons.
The group also plans to switch from self-guided tours and a hire a docent to lead guided ones.
Hamner Jr., a well-known American television writer and producer, died from cancer in March of 2016.
This is the house that was used in the iconic 1970s television show in California
The Waltons was a popular show in the 1970s based on Earl Hamner Jr.’s childhood home. The cast is pictured