Gothichome wrote:Ken, that’s a great bit of history to find. You now know the builder and original owner. By the way nice that you were able to save the barn and get some work shop space, some thing I envy.
Was the property a working farm in 1914?
Yes I am very happy to be getting work shop space. Our basement is very dungeon - like, half the basement floor is dirt, no light or air. The space in the barn will be great, no insulation or heat but much nicer than the basement. First job will be to build some workbenches, so I can get to work fixing everything else, I guess no more procrastinating.
I know a fair amount about the history of the house, we are just the third owners. The person who built the house was born across the street. They grew cauliflower, potatoes, and at some point Christmas trees. The property was part of a farm, but I am not sure of the boundaries at the time, and I know he bought another farm close by a few years later. His parents across the street also had that large farm there which is now a development.
It’s interesting how much I can find in old newspapers. I ran across a site that has digitized copies of historical newspapers, and you can search for text. The old local newspapers were like the Facebook of the day, with sections for every hamlet giving all the local social news. They talk about who is visiting in town, who had a nice dinner party, who is going on a trip, etc. I learned quite a bit about the lives of the people who built this house.
