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Learning The History Of Our Home

One of my favorite things about our home is the fact that we are fortunate enough to be able to learn so much of it’s history!  Our home was built in 1920, and we are the third family to own it.

Physically the history shows in the little details.  The original doors, cabinets, archways and trim.

In the yard you find little bits of history too!  Original apple trees, an old garage foundation that we are transforming into a patio, and amazingly a section of an electric trolley line that used to run all the way to my home town 35 miles away!

But what is even better than that?  The son of the original owner, who was raised in our home and we had never met before buying our property, comes home to visit his childhood home once a year.

He doesn’t mind walking around the property sharing stories with us for as long as we’d like to hear! (And usually we’re not ready for him to stop!)

 Tom has shared so many memories with us.  And to me, adding our memories to the list that his family started here all of those years ago is the biggest perk to our home!

The day we closed, Linda (the most recent owner) told us that one of the reasons she accepted our offer was that Nick and I reminded her so much of her and her husband Bill when they bought the house as a newly married couple.

As I’ve mentioned before, Nick is an electrician.  Linda’s husband, Bill, was also an electrician!  We have a Puggle and they had a beagle.  And we also learned that Tom’s father (the original owner) was named Nick.

It’s so fun to learn these little coincidence!

A Long List of Memories

Our backyard, the day we closed on the house.

This past summer, when Tom came to visit, we took our annual walk around the property and back to the paths in the woods.  He loves visiting with his childhood friend and finding the trees that they had a tree house in, all those years ago.

And up until this summer there had still been one step, nailed into the tree, that was used to climb into the tree house.  He talked with us about the chickens that he and his family raised when they lived here, the different fruit trees that scattered the property, where they kept their garden and the little pond that had been off the back of the house.

Last week, when Nick and I were digging out the Christmas decorations from the crawl space in our bedroom, we found little chalk drawings still on the wall.  Tom’s name was signed next to them!

I remembered him telling me that this had been his bedroom and he loved playing in the crawl space!  I hope to find a way to preserve this and make it a permanent fixture to our home.

Another memory that he’s shared with us, is the tree that used to grow outside that bedroom window.  He used that tree to sneak out and get into trouble with his friends, that is until his dad found out and chopped the tree down.

Continuing The List

Every time I expand my garden, or update the house I know I’m adding to the list.  Family dinners and milestones in our life continue to enrich the history in this tiny space we call ours.

Nick and I love that the life we chose is so similar to the lives of the previous families!  Each time I hear a new story, from Tom or one of our neighbors, I’m driven to continue living this simple life.

It can be hard.  But I look at how happy and fulfilled the families here before us were and I know we can do it!  I know that the stresses can wear us down, and I also know that it will be worth it!

All I need to remind myself, is a moment of sitting in the backyard with a good book, picking an apple from our trees, or sitting in front of the fire with my family.

I smile while I write this, hoping that someday soon we have children of our own that will be just as mischievous as Tom and his friends were.  And while I’m sure I’ll curse myself for saying this later, I’ll also know that they will be creating more memories to be ingrained in the soul of this homestead to one day be shared with another young couple looking to start their perfect little homestead.

Do you have a piece of history that makes your home feel more like a home? Share with us in the comments!