$1.298M West Hills home once owned by oats chief

A West Hills Early American farmhouse once owned by Quaker Oats Company executive Augustin Hart Jr. is on the market for $1.298 million.

The six-bedroom, five-bath house on 2.79 acres was built in 1837. It was owned by three other families before Hart purchased the home in 1947 as he rose the ranks at Quaker, and sold it when he became director in 1960.

“When I was looking for a home, I was looking for an older home because they have such charming character,” says Sharon Schwartz, who bought the home in 1994 and is the seventh owner. “You just think, people were born in this house; I raised my kids in this house. I found a cannonball on the property probably from the Civil War era. To think the home has been standing here all these years and it’s still such a beautiful home, it’s incredible.”

Mature specimen trees surround the property, which boasts a barn that pre-dates the house, a three-car garage, a hot tub and swimming pool. Original features include four fireplaces, larder doors, many of the door latches and most of the hardwood floors. The living room, originally split into two separate spaces, was paneled with wood from a Connecticut Valley tobacco farm during an early remodel. The kitchen was renovated in 1965 and again in 2005, along with all the bathrooms. The eat-in-kitchen includes high-end appliances and is lined with reclaimed wide wood plank floors in a way to preserve the home's character and feel.

“I wanted it to look like it would’ve belonged here,” Schwartz says of the renovations. “But my favorite room is the library — I love having the fire going in the winter, it’s just really cozy. You can’t even appreciate it unless you were to see it.”

The property is listed with Roberta Feuerstein of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.