History of your house/ neighborhood

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Does the company still exist?

Check tax records / rate books (these are often kept at clerk of court or city archives). They had to pay taxes

Some localities also publish city and county directories, and many of these were available quite early--ours from the late 1800s at least.

My house was built between 1811 and 1813. The lot was purchased for $1 then, by a Quaker woman who was the niece of the town founder. We bought the house from the city for $1, 15 years ago, so the place didn't appreciate much in value over 185 years This family left because they disapproved of slavery, and they moved to a free state. The second owner was a builder from Richmond; he brought his family and two domestic slaves. The house had a kitchen wing on the side with a small garret above where the slaves resided, and a door in between which was later bricked in, perhaps to keep the slaves separate from the master's family. This wing burned by about 1880 and was never rebuilt. The downstairs closet is greasy inside from where meat or tallow candles or lye soap were once kept. Soldiers resided at the house during the Civil War, and scratched their signatures in the plaster of the upstairs fireplace; we found Confederate artillery uniform buttons under the floorboards. One of the slaves who belonged to the owner of the house at that time was named Henry, he stayed with the family after emancipation, and when the owner died an inventory was made of the house, so we know what was in every room. The only firearm in the house was in Henry's care, because he was trusted and charged with protecting the household. The owner during the early 1900s worked for the Traction and Light Company (trolleys and electrical service), and we found one of his uniform buttons near the old coal heap in our driveway. He had a wife and four children who were born in our home during the Great Depression; we met two of the daughters who were elderly women, and they were excited to see that we found marbles under our back patio, because they used to play marbles there with a neighbor boy who grew up to become a state senator. Once the senator visited our house and we gave him one of his old marbles as a souvenir When the father died, one of the girls awoke to find a stranger standing at the foot of her bed, but he ran away when she called for help. After that her mother started sleeping with a handgun under the pillow.

Ironically, I know less about the more recent occupants of the house; one was a seamstress, and we found her buttons and thimbles and pins under the floor. The most recent was a woman who the neighbors said always served the children lemonade and cookies if they would help her around the house. She was paranoid, though, and had about half a dozen separate locks installed on the door to the room she used as her bedroom. Maybe she had a similar experience with an intruder?

I have fifteen boxes of archaeological material from the restoration of our house. Can't seem to get the time to process all of it, though. Maybe this summer...

The original house that was here was built around 1900,all that is left of it is two old hand dug wells and some rock walls.One well they used as as a way to keep milk and food cool,you lower it into the well.The other was the one for water.I still get water out of it if I have pump trouble with the drilled well.Its better tasting water,the drilled well has sulphur water.There are initials carved into rocks and some old beech trees from the original family.They grew corn here,I don't know if it was for eating or for shine.Their mother died here stepping down from the well.Maybe a sudden heart attck or stroke.She was a heavy woman and well know for her talent of making tasty pies.The creeks were up bad and there were were four river crossings,they had to get some sort of old army truck to get her out to be buried.The old man that grew up here told me about stealing a chicken from the neighbors and cooking and eating it. This was in the thirties.The former county clerk told me how he broke his arm climbing on their chicken coop.They would listen to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night.Later another family lived in that house for a spell but it fell into disrepair and was torn town.Late fifties.The place was vacant till the early seventies when the back to the land movement started.A family moved here from Louisiana and built a small cabin.They had a child born here,years later he showed up here to see the place where he was born,I was happy to let him look around.They stayed for a few years but didn't like it .There was a commune in the area,and lots of naked hippies on horseback and at the creek.They were religious folk and didn't care for the free love crowd.Another couple bought the place and tried to live here for awhile,Yankees.They almost burned the place down when they emptied the ashes from the heater into a paper bag and set it by the back door right next to the house.It caught the wall on fire but they were able to put it out.They added on another section to the house.They said they grew straw flowers,but I'm not too sure about that .Then they starved out,and we bought the place.We added two bedrooms,porches,and finished it,Got the power company to run electric and I've been here ever since.Today I found an old pick axe in the woods,I've found tons of old horseshoes,marbles,some silver spoons and other artifacts.Even arrowheads.

I wonder if anyone lives in a grade 1 listed castle.

If they did they would have wonky wifi for sure.

My own Midcentury Modest has revealed a county tract # though no builders or architects have come forward to claim responsibility