An 1880s Victorian in Mickleton, now lovingly refreshed

Driving to a pumpkin patch with her kids one day in 1989, Jeanne McPeak happened upon their future home.

For months, she and husband John McPeak had hunted for a large, authentic homestead for their growing family that had not already been "remuddled" - that is, insensitively remodeled.

By the time Jeanne, now 61, spotted the property in Mickleton, they'd just about given up and decided to stay in their circa-1910 house in Pitman.

"Jeanne came home and said we had to call about this house she'd seen," recalls John, 62. They were disappointed to learn it was under contract.

Two months later, the Realtor called back, said the deal had fallen through, and asked whether they were still interested.

Accented by colorful perennials, hardy ground cover, and stately trees, the Queen Anne Victorian was built on Kings Highway in 1888, during a migration to the Quaker hamlet after completion of the Swedesboro Railroad.

The 3,600-square-foot house is one of several built along the main street for early suburbanites, including the town's namesake, businessman Samuel Mickle, who wrote diaries about life in South Jersey.

Over the last century, the house changed owners a few times. For a short period during the Great Depression, it was modified into apartments and later converted back into a single-family dwelling. But time took a toll on it.

"The entire first floor was painted yellow on top of layers of wallpaper. The kitchen had turquoise cabinets that were rusted inside," says Jeanne.

Nevertheless, the couple, who married 37 years ago and have five grown children, were smitten with the house's original architectural elements, including a large porch, a belfry, an elaborate ruby-glass front window, a handsome staircase, pocket doors, and splendid interior woodwork.

"We both love historic homes," says John. "But during the initial tour, we looked at each other and thought, 'Wow!' "

They immediately made an offer, only to find out another couple were interested, resulting in a bidding war. The sale would proceed for the buyers who sold their current home first. Luckily, within two weeks, the McPeaks did, allowing them to acquire their dream home.

Through the years, they have made structural and creative improvements for modernity's sake, always making sure to preserve the home's authenticity.

Contractors upgraded the electrical system and added a high-velocity air-conditioning system. The entire exterior - tower, gables, fish scales - received a face-lift and was painted a woodsy green. New cabinets and appliances were installed in the kitchen, and a solarium was added, where 12-year-old Oliver, their wirehaired dachshund, is often found lounging.

John, who retired this year as president of Graver Technologies in Newark, Del., has done a lot of work himself. He stripped interior woodwork that had been painted white and refinished the wood floors.

Refreshed rooms are filled with antiques, artwork, family photos, and furnishings complementing the architectural details. This begins in the front hall, where china acquired by John during frequent work trips to China, Japan, and India, decorate a built-in.

A midcentury coffee table found at Goodwill and refinished by John shares space in the parlor with an overstuffed chair that belonged to his grandparents.

In the dining room, perhaps nothing warrants attention quite like Jeanne's needlepoint of a poem about the joy of adoption - three of their children are adopted.

"Its meaning is heartfelt," says Jeanne, who works at the West Deptford Free Public Library. She also volunteers at Pegasus the Arts, an art program in South Jersey for adults with disabilities.

A curio holds pieces of flow-blue china found by John on eBay. A piano and a Larkin library table complement the large dining table bought at a neighborhood estate sale.

"We both come from large families," says John. "We might have 50 people for Thanksgiving."

Watercolors by Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' James Toogood, a friend, hang throughout the first floor. On a family-room shelf is a picture of the science-fiction writer Philip Francis Nowlan, Jeanne's grandfather. His portrait faces a bronze casting of Buck Rogers, the popular fictional character Nowlan originated.

Now that the McPeaks are empty-nesters, they agree the house is too big, but Jeanne can't imagine ever selling it.

"I love this house," she says. "It's hard to leave a house that you have put so much of yourself into."