Rudy McLaughlin House

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Pictures coming soon... Rudy McLaughlin House was probably the third house ever to be built in Westfield, PA. It is unsure who built it, but it has had various owners and uses. The earliest recollection is of the property being a stage coach inn. The greek revival home has two seperate doors on the front porch, one for the men to enter the smoking parlor, and one for the women to enter their tea room. In 1875 it was being owned by Gilbert E. Secord. In the early to mid 1900's it was being owned by the Clark brothers who owned much property in Westfield, but it was being the residence of William and Eva (Jones) Eaves. They had 4 children, one of which was Carol. The family was removed from the house, but Carol moved back later with her husband Rudy McLaughlin, a well-known well driller in the area. The front door now leads into a small family room. One can go left into a very large formal living room, shown below, or right into an area to access the two bedrooms in the house. If one goes straight, they can go into the office or through a different door to the kitchen. At the end of the kitchen, one can turn left into the bathroom or stairway. Upstairs is the horseshoe room, a U shaped room that is mainly used for storage. Then they can enter a very large dark room that is also used for storage. They can turn left or right to enter equally large rooms. In the East Room, the walls to this day are covered in newspaper from the 1850's that crumbles to the touch. In the West Room, three boards or so lift up to expose a hiding place that is said to be used to hide slaves in the Undergroud Railroad, but this is not proven. In one of the two basements, used to be a tunnel, now sealed, that led under the road to the river across the creek. This also used to be an escape route. These stories very well may be true, but it is not proven. The second house to the end of the borough line, Rudy McLaughlin House is one of the most amazingly historic homes in Westfield.