Have spent all of my 38 years living in and restoring old houses. Recently purchased and moved into an old farm house, which is a bit of a head scratch. Family and records indicate this house was built between 1773 and 1779, and there is much data from the Mennonite Heritage Foundation and county records to support that. However, I see a lot of features in this house that also look mid-19th century. I suspect that some portion of the house does date to 1773, but that it was either expanded or very heavily renovated in the mid-1800's.
In any case, here are some photos. The stucco addition in the middle is ca.1894, and the newer addition on the right is 1994, but using stone reclaimed from the original barn.
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- 157_01.jpg (47.89 KiB) Viewed 1175 times
The windows and doors in the house are very old, perhaps many of them original, although I do not believe most of them are still in their original locations. Likewise, the flooring is old or reclaimed, but I cannot believe some of it is original.
All first floor joists are round, hewn flat on two sides, whereas all second and third floor joists are sawn. The only exposed joists at the second or third floor levels have been finished, stripped, and then bleached. After all that abuse, I cannot tell if they were sawn on a circular or recip mill.
Many previous owners have committed many sins, and we are just beginning the process of undoing all of that, but I'm sure that's nothing new to you!
Hoping to share stories, give and ask for opinions and advice, and see some beautiful old homes!
