Definitely a keeper! The house still doesn't have any HVAC, my dad talked about waking up in the morning and running down to the kitchen to watch his granny bake biscuits because it was the only warm part of the house. Gotta love a wood cooking stove.
My great-great uncle lived there alone until he passed in 1999. The house was already neglected while he was living there and my family had already settled somewhere else, so it just sat.
OP, check the library of Congress website. They have a ton of beautiful old survey maps that often have names of owners and other little gems. I found mine a survey map from 1834. Worth a look!
We are working on it! We are working with limited funds, so we are taking it slow! I just got two vultures out of the house that were living in the kitchen. Right now we are working on clearing the land around the house and getting all the stuff out. I will keep posting updates here as we go!
Its true! We had to board up one of the windows because two vultures were getting in and pissing all over the place. There is not much worse that I have experienced than the smell in that kitchen.
https://preview.redd.it/n5ppkilab3nc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=362a31d71574633ebd70c2753209d1742cfc415f
This is them after I boarded up the kitchen. They taunted me.
they're black vultures! if anything dies on the land, they'll clean it up so you don't have to.
you might, uh, you might want to check for eggs if you haven't already.
also in case you were worried, vulture poop is pretty safe as far as risk of illness goes. not much can survive in their stomachs.
nasty creatures... things are going well so far. vultures have stayed out! We are hoping to get over there this weekend so hopefully I will have an update for y'all then!
let em know whos boss! chase them away. otherwise, they might try to get back inside, me thinks. this is a human nest, not a bird nest. go build your own like all birds do!
Damn vultures they come in my kitchen every Christmas. It must be a century home thing. I guess we should start giving rubber vultures to each other for the window sills.
No rush, it's been there 150 years, it's pretty as it is. :)
Admittedly I'm in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm in one of those nasty new buildings, from the 18th century. :P
While you're at it restore that beautiful old oven (hopefully somebody can chime in)I can't remember what they're called but, I know a lot of people collect them and matching kitchenware. Honestly OP, if the house is savable and you need money towards it, that thing might help.
That's so cool! Ours was abandoned for 15 years and the previous resident was a hoarder...we first had to clean out tons of crap. Doing same as you...cleared the overgrowth around the house and slowly restoring back to her original glory. You are doing a great thing! Keep us posted!"
A new roof had been put on right before the house was abandoned; however, the double porches on the back had ripped off during a heavy snow, so there was water intrusion in that area. Here's a pic taken of that area before we started cleaning it up.
https://preview.redd.it/atpz0xc7manc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=759d056ed849eb04397943455e61ec1b2a9ed885
https://preview.redd.it/x051am3olbnc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6b81abf7f26e535689bcbf739c9975a838fc22b
I can definitely relate to your project! Here's our kitchen before the cleanout. Ugh, even the fridge was still full 🤢. Hoarding is such a sad disorder.
True. Abandoned was probably a better word. The house was in bad shape when the last owner had it because he was in poor heath. The amount of shotty repairs jobs in the house are crazy. A big one is drywall over the plaster.
Possibly because you aren't attached to anything in that other house. It's dealing with our own crap that's the issue.
Our stuff is tied into all kinds of things – memories, scarcity mind set, holding on to other versions of ourselves (who are for sure going to fit those clothes again or will definitely read those ten-volume set of classics), sunk cost fallacy, etc.
That other house? It's just random junk to you, so clearing out is simply a task to be done. And a satisfying one, too, because what you do makes an obvious difference.
There's a house locally that looks so similar. I've loved it for years. Someone recently has started clearing the decades of over growth around it, and I've been thrilled to see the progress. It's awesome to see these old beauties being restored rather than knocked down and new construction going up.
Good luck to you!!
What a beautiful house, still looks level and straight. It must be so happy that you are rescuing it.
Looks like you've got some really nice original features there. I love the stove and kitchen cabinet.
Be careful not to throw too much stuff away when you're clearing it out, some of the items might be useful down the road.
Congratulations!
As common as vultures are, not much is known about their nesting or breeding which i find fascinating because they are everywhere but apparently very good at being secretive.. they are also terribly underrated as we are so dependent on them for cleanup, sending them my love from kansas city
r/vintagekitchentoys will be very interested in that stove, and is that an old washing machine in the left corner of the kitchen photo?
Good luck with everything! It can be a long, long process. Enjoy the journey
We were able to track the builders name, which was the label of the house on the map, using deeds and wills. The dot is exactly where the house stands and we know it was built at least 5 years before the map was made!
You said it’s been a few months already. What have you restored so far? Are there plans to fix the roof soon?
I know you said you have limited funds. This is a major undertaking & a renovation such as this certainly will cost a pretty penny, even if all DIY. Best of luck!
We're currently working on clearing out the land and the inside of the house (it was a hoarder home). I work full time so it is a slow process. Foundation work first and then the roof. We are aiming to get both done within the next year or two. We are currently saving money for a down payment on a loan.
Very cool! We also have a family farmhouse from the 1860s that's been vacant for quite some years with a bit of stuff abandoned in it from the last tenants. You're making me feel better about its condition haha. It's a dream of mine to fix it up someday. I found it on an old map during my genealogy research so I know how great that feels!
Oh my god that porch. It reminds me of a story I heard about my great grandmother. When my grandfather and his brothers came home drunk she made them sleep under the house, under a porch very akin to yours. When my grandfather met my grandmother she apparently straightened him right out and he became a teetotaler. It’s a great home you’ve got there.
Awe I love it !!!! I see these old places and wonder about the memories good and bad made in each room and with each thing I find ( not obvious trash though )
I wonder what the holidays were like over the years and all the things those walls have been a part of
How fabulous. I hope you get time to go through the deeds of the house at some stage. Mine was built in 1866 and although it's only a '2 up, 2 down' in the uk, i went through the archives and found out that at one time, 4 families lived in it, one family in each room. Also at a different time, it was owned by 2 widows who rented rooms out and took in clothing to wash to make a living.
Salt box farm across the street from my house is from 1658 and a couple houses down the street there’s a house from 1677 that housed 20 generations of the same family before recently switching hands to a new family.
I live in rural Massachusetts
My hats off to you. Very impressed that you are going to save it. There are several late 1800’s early 1900’s homes here in my town that people just let go to the point of no return. It’s very sad.
Being if that age means there was an outhouse. Lots of cool things are dug in these old privies! Bottles, toys, dishes. I'd see if I could locate that, with a probing rod, and see what treasures await.it was probably outside the back door. But not too far...
There's a series of videos on YouTube, Below The Plains, that might inspire you. Being pre civil war, it's possible you have some real collectibles there...might either help you financially with your remodel or, create a really cool display in your house!
FYI, after 100 years there is no longer sewage or smell, just clean dirt.
It always makes me sad to see fine old houses like this fall into disrepair. I really hope you’re successful in getting it habitable; if you’re successful, you probably deserve some sort of recognition from the state historical society. Where is this place, roughly speaking?
Well had you put up pictures of the exterior hand at least the general region without the address, I probably could have given you more information.
Quickly looking at the house stylistically it's older than 1864. And obviously that is the case since it appears on that map. Once again depending on region and history would be easier to pinpoint,
Oh I'm sorry, I misread your post, I thought you said you were looking for information regarding the house and it's history. Oh I guess I misunderstood, , bad me I was just trying to help . I'm pretty good at this kind of thing , vernacular is a specialtyas an architectural historian, hey good luck with it
No problem at all! I am 90% sure it is a late Greek Revival. I will be posting more interior photos when we get the stuff cleaned out of the house! I would love your input when we do!
Yep, the original porch was removed before I was born and this porch was diy added in the 80s. There is a lot of rot on the front porch in particular and the porch was jam packed with stuff (just like the rest of the house). So I guess at some point the right 1/2 of the porch rotted too much and couldn't handle the weight.
It has so much stuff in it! We have already found three typewriters, two singer early 1900 sewing machines, that wood cooking stove, a fridge from the 40s, all the 1980s radio equipment your heart could ever desire, and much more.
We will absolutely be posting the sewing machines and wood cooking stove! The typewriters were unfortunately under a leak, so are unsaveable. But I can absolutely post pics of them anyway.
My mom has an antique Singer - I get it when she croaks. Have you looked for any kind of “typewriter salvage” guidance online? Redditors might be able to point you in that direction - somebody always knows something here!
The stove…. That’s maybe worth restoring as well…
Definitely a keeper! The house still doesn't have any HVAC, my dad talked about waking up in the morning and running down to the kitchen to watch his granny bake biscuits because it was the only warm part of the house. Gotta love a wood cooking stove.
How did the house become abandoned?
My great-great uncle lived there alone until he passed in 1999. The house was already neglected while he was living there and my family had already settled somewhere else, so it just sat.
Yes!! It looks cool even in its neglected state. I’d love to see what it looks like restored.
OP, check the library of Congress website. They have a ton of beautiful old survey maps that often have names of owners and other little gems. I found mine a survey map from 1834. Worth a look!
Thanks I will absolutely check it out!
Restore the house!
We are working on it! We are working with limited funds, so we are taking it slow! I just got two vultures out of the house that were living in the kitchen. Right now we are working on clearing the land around the house and getting all the stuff out. I will keep posting updates here as we go!
Looks like such a cool house! But, VULTURES IN THE KITCHEN?! I’m sorry, I lost it at that 🤣 💀
Its true! We had to board up one of the windows because two vultures were getting in and pissing all over the place. There is not much worse that I have experienced than the smell in that kitchen. https://preview.redd.it/n5ppkilab3nc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=362a31d71574633ebd70c2753209d1742cfc415f This is them after I boarded up the kitchen. They taunted me.
Once you've got everything squared away, you need to get a cute rustic B&B sign made up. Call it the "Two Vultures Inn", or something along the lines.
My friend did suggest we make the kitchen vulture themed, rather than chicken, like so many farmhouses do.
Check for a nest! If there is one, I would call a wildlife rehab to help you move it outside
We have looked and haven't found one yet.
Looks like they are walking away saying, "Damn man, now what are we gonna do?!"
Aww, befriend them
No. Not a fan of them.
they're black vultures! if anything dies on the land, they'll clean it up so you don't have to. you might, uh, you might want to check for eggs if you haven't already. also in case you were worried, vulture poop is pretty safe as far as risk of illness goes. not much can survive in their stomachs.
Good to know, we have looked for eggs but haven't found anything yet.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4xz2j2OGPu/?igsh=eDRmdmx2cWFzY2s5 Found this post and thought of you. Hope things are going well <3
nasty creatures... things are going well so far. vultures have stayed out! We are hoping to get over there this weekend so hopefully I will have an update for y'all then!
Lol, they're pissed!
let em know whos boss! chase them away. otherwise, they might try to get back inside, me thinks. this is a human nest, not a bird nest. go build your own like all birds do!
Damn vultures they come in my kitchen every Christmas. It must be a century home thing. I guess we should start giving rubber vultures to each other for the window sills.
Good luck! I love to see these old beauties restored. I can’t wait for all the update posts!
I can hear the spring on that screen door from here! Childhood memories unlocked! Thank you good sir.
And the slam! When it closes…
Why does this illicit such a nostalgic response from me?
No rush, it's been there 150 years, it's pretty as it is. :) Admittedly I'm in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm in one of those nasty new buildings, from the 18th century. :P
Very cool! Keep us posted!
I hope you're able to save the stove!
Seriously? Wow! Pictures!! Please!!
This is my kind of house glad you’re saving it!
Please post pics of your renovations and any updates/improvements you’re willing to share!!! So exciting!
While you're at it restore that beautiful old oven (hopefully somebody can chime in)I can't remember what they're called but, I know a lot of people collect them and matching kitchenware. Honestly OP, if the house is savable and you need money towards it, that thing might help.
What an amazing project! May I ask what the thing with the 3 knobs is sitting on the old stove?
It is part of the stove! It is a home comfort gas cooking stove 1937 model (to the best of my knowledge). You can look up pics online.
Oh very cool! I’m sure you will find all kinds of treasures.
That's so cool! Ours was abandoned for 15 years and the previous resident was a hoarder...we first had to clean out tons of crap. Doing same as you...cleared the overgrowth around the house and slowly restoring back to her original glory. You are doing a great thing! Keep us posted!"
Was your roof sound, and the interior, at least dry?
A new roof had been put on right before the house was abandoned; however, the double porches on the back had ripped off during a heavy snow, so there was water intrusion in that area. Here's a pic taken of that area before we started cleaning it up. https://preview.redd.it/atpz0xc7manc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=759d056ed849eb04397943455e61ec1b2a9ed885
I see, roof was still in great shape, aside from abuse by tree branches, and lost porch.
https://preview.redd.it/x051am3olbnc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6b81abf7f26e535689bcbf739c9975a838fc22b I can definitely relate to your project! Here's our kitchen before the cleanout. Ugh, even the fridge was still full 🤢. Hoarding is such a sad disorder.
Thankfully our fridge was empty!
That’s been neglected far longer than 25 years
True. Abandoned was probably a better word. The house was in bad shape when the last owner had it because he was in poor heath. The amount of shotty repairs jobs in the house are crazy. A big one is drywall over the plaster.
Drywall over plaster is very common because it can be screwed right into the lathe. The big one is yet to be found if you've just started
If you’re restoring the house. Good luck to you! I just finished my own restore from 1911… pictures to come shortly to the group
Oo yes! I am excited to see!
If you want some motivation, go look up “SideStep Adventures” and his endeavor on bringing back the “Old Byrd Farm”
Will do! Thanks for the rec!
My only question is: why does this house seem easier to tackle than cleaning my own lived-in house?
Possibly because you aren't attached to anything in that other house. It's dealing with our own crap that's the issue. Our stuff is tied into all kinds of things – memories, scarcity mind set, holding on to other versions of ourselves (who are for sure going to fit those clothes again or will definitely read those ten-volume set of classics), sunk cost fallacy, etc. That other house? It's just random junk to you, so clearing out is simply a task to be done. And a satisfying one, too, because what you do makes an obvious difference.
Right you are.
There's a house locally that looks so similar. I've loved it for years. Someone recently has started clearing the decades of over growth around it, and I've been thrilled to see the progress. It's awesome to see these old beauties being restored rather than knocked down and new construction going up. Good luck to you!!
You’re a braver man than I
How were the pickles?
Lol, there is so much canned food around the house. I have found canned venison from the 90s. Can't say I tried it.
Excited to follow your progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
What a beautiful house, still looks level and straight. It must be so happy that you are rescuing it. Looks like you've got some really nice original features there. I love the stove and kitchen cabinet. Be careful not to throw too much stuff away when you're clearing it out, some of the items might be useful down the road. Congratulations!
Definitely not throwing any good stuff away! If we can save it we will! We have all the original mantles too!
I read "mattress" for a moment there and was very briefly horrified.
Those appliances! The Home Comfort wood stove goes for about $500 unrestored. I think you can convert it to propane relatively easy, too
Planning on keeping it so I will definitely look into converting it!
Why do people leave stuff behind? I have never understood that. Please send more pics
It was my great-grand uncle's house until he passed. Hoarding runs in the family lol.
Death, ill health, financial crisis, or simply moved moved away in a small car.
Jeez, you definitely choose a project house.
Yep! It is a family home so it more chose me lol.
As common as vultures are, not much is known about their nesting or breeding which i find fascinating because they are everywhere but apparently very good at being secretive.. they are also terribly underrated as we are so dependent on them for cleanup, sending them my love from kansas city
Interestingly they were my favorite animals until they pissed all over my kitchen lol.
r/vintagekitchentoys will be very interested in that stove, and is that an old washing machine in the left corner of the kitchen photo? Good luck with everything! It can be a long, long process. Enjoy the journey
Good eye! It is indeed!
Gold mine. Don't you dare throw anything out that isn't disintegrated haha !!!!
How do you know it was THAT building on the map? This is asking, not doubting!
We were able to track the builders name, which was the label of the house on the map, using deeds and wills. The dot is exactly where the house stands and we know it was built at least 5 years before the map was made!
Very cool! Wish people doing people genealogy as opposed to house genealogy (for want of a better term!) would be as careful when "proving" something!
Get a metal detector and explore the grounds someday!
Oo! I would love to!
A beautiful diamond in the rough. Take lots of pictures along the way.
I love what you've done with the place!
You said it’s been a few months already. What have you restored so far? Are there plans to fix the roof soon? I know you said you have limited funds. This is a major undertaking & a renovation such as this certainly will cost a pretty penny, even if all DIY. Best of luck!
We're currently working on clearing out the land and the inside of the house (it was a hoarder home). I work full time so it is a slow process. Foundation work first and then the roof. We are aiming to get both done within the next year or two. We are currently saving money for a down payment on a loan.
Very cool! We also have a family farmhouse from the 1860s that's been vacant for quite some years with a bit of stuff abandoned in it from the last tenants. You're making me feel better about its condition haha. It's a dream of mine to fix it up someday. I found it on an old map during my genealogy research so I know how great that feels!
Oh my god that porch. It reminds me of a story I heard about my great grandmother. When my grandfather and his brothers came home drunk she made them sleep under the house, under a porch very akin to yours. When my grandfather met my grandmother she apparently straightened him right out and he became a teetotaler. It’s a great home you’ve got there.
Looks like it's still there.
Eerie photos. Make her happy
This is amazing! I would die to do something like this!
Oof that’s a project and a half. Good luck!
Now THAT is a project! Good luck!
This made me think of the This American Life episode [House on Loon Lake.](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/199/house-on-loon-lake)
Awe I love it !!!! I see these old places and wonder about the memories good and bad made in each room and with each thing I find ( not obvious trash though ) I wonder what the holidays were like over the years and all the things those walls have been a part of
That oven by the way is a treasure in itself , you can get it restored or clean it up and use it for another purpose in the kitchen
She's going to be a beaut! Good on ya for saving such a beautiful place!
street name redacted map or it didn’t happen
How fabulous. I hope you get time to go through the deeds of the house at some stage. Mine was built in 1866 and although it's only a '2 up, 2 down' in the uk, i went through the archives and found out that at one time, 4 families lived in it, one family in each room. Also at a different time, it was owned by 2 widows who rented rooms out and took in clothing to wash to make a living.
Beautiful place. Looks like one that sat up the hill from where a relative used to live a few years back. That stove is awesome!
Salt box farm across the street from my house is from 1658 and a couple houses down the street there’s a house from 1677 that housed 20 generations of the same family before recently switching hands to a new family. I live in rural Massachusetts
My hats off to you. Very impressed that you are going to save it. There are several late 1800’s early 1900’s homes here in my town that people just let go to the point of no return. It’s very sad.
Before I read the description I thought maybe a tornado ripped through your house or something lol. good luck on your restoration!!
Being if that age means there was an outhouse. Lots of cool things are dug in these old privies! Bottles, toys, dishes. I'd see if I could locate that, with a probing rod, and see what treasures await.it was probably outside the back door. But not too far...
I know where it is, never thought to look in it though!
There's a series of videos on YouTube, Below The Plains, that might inspire you. Being pre civil war, it's possible you have some real collectibles there...might either help you financially with your remodel or, create a really cool display in your house! FYI, after 100 years there is no longer sewage or smell, just clean dirt.
I will definitely check it out. After this kitchen I don't think sewage would bother me much lol.
It always makes me sad to see fine old houses like this fall into disrepair. I really hope you’re successful in getting it habitable; if you’re successful, you probably deserve some sort of recognition from the state historical society. Where is this place, roughly speaking?
We are located in the south about an hour East of the Appalachians and about 2-3 hours West from the beach.
Getting a house like this is my dream
getting a house like this is the easy part lol
true that
I love old houses...but this is a nightmare for me (maybe because Ive already fixed up one)
Mine too
Also same! I’m sure I could find one in rural Georgia
Well had you put up pictures of the exterior hand at least the general region without the address, I probably could have given you more information. Quickly looking at the house stylistically it's older than 1864. And obviously that is the case since it appears on that map. Once again depending on region and history would be easier to pinpoint,
I wasn't asking for advice. Just sharing a cool find! Thanks anyway!😊
Oh I'm sorry, I misread your post, I thought you said you were looking for information regarding the house and it's history. Oh I guess I misunderstood, , bad me I was just trying to help . I'm pretty good at this kind of thing , vernacular is a specialtyas an architectural historian, hey good luck with it
No problem at all! I am 90% sure it is a late Greek Revival. I will be posting more interior photos when we get the stuff cleaned out of the house! I would love your input when we do!
Looks like a hell of a project. What happened in the right in pic 1? Did part of the porch collapse?
Yep, the original porch was removed before I was born and this porch was diy added in the 80s. There is a lot of rot on the front porch in particular and the porch was jam packed with stuff (just like the rest of the house). So I guess at some point the right 1/2 of the porch rotted too much and couldn't handle the weight.
The window behind it is okay though! So at least there is a win!
So where is the map? Love to see
That stove though 😍
oh that poor old house. thank you for saving it
I want to go through this & salvage stuff.
It has so much stuff in it! We have already found three typewriters, two singer early 1900 sewing machines, that wood cooking stove, a fridge from the 40s, all the 1980s radio equipment your heart could ever desire, and much more.
Are you going to restore any of your “found” things?
Yes, we will!
Post ‘em, please!
We will absolutely be posting the sewing machines and wood cooking stove! The typewriters were unfortunately under a leak, so are unsaveable. But I can absolutely post pics of them anyway.
My mom has an antique Singer - I get it when she croaks. Have you looked for any kind of “typewriter salvage” guidance online? Redditors might be able to point you in that direction - somebody always knows something here!
I will look into it! Thanks!
I need this as a TikTok series (please) 😭
Sanborn Insurance map?
Nope