Anyone who has ever restored an older home knows that the ability to speak to a person familiar with the home is invaluable. I knew that one day, someone would drop by who either lived in the house or had intimate knowledge of the home. That day for us was on Thursday.
I was just returning home from yet ANOTHER hardware store run when a car pulled in behind me. My first thought was it was someone asking for directions but instead it was Kim, from Texas, asking if she could take a photo of the barn. Kim used to live on the property in the caretaker house with her parents.
Oh my....I had so many questions and Kim, if you are reading this....I'm making a list of more questions....LOL.
We walked around the property and she filled us in on so many things. Then we went inside where we found out that there might be another niche hidden in the wall. Kim thought maybe in the stairway but I checked yesterday and it is all original plaster BUT I did find another square cracked area next to the fireplace in the living room. We will know for sure when I strip the paint off the walls in the living room. I'm currently working on the two arched recessed areas with the built in cabinets. I have one side completely stripped and will move to the other side later this week.
Kim said she would look for photos when she returns back home to Texas. I will be thrilled to actually see what the house looked like back in the day. She said she thought the house was older than the 1937 that we were told when we purchased the house. Our neighbor's house is 1926-27 and he was told that our house was built at the same time as his, by the son of the person who built his house.
She also told us that our house was called, Top of the Hill. We had heard that name once before but now we have verification. We will add an additional plaque to our driveway pillar once we know the exact age of our house. At that time we will change our name to Gear Acres at Top of the Hill.
In the meantime......we have continued to paint the garden shed. Two sides painted and one side sanded and half way primed.
The fourth side, which happens to be the front, looks like this.....
VERY COOL! to have Kim stop by! I wish we would have that kind of luck. We did find the bride of the nephew of the original owners/builders of the house. We even visited with her when we went to Seattle Washington. But alas, no pictures - how I wish I could get a photo of it when it was just built. Boo Hoo!
ReplyDeleteGear Acres at Top of the Hill. I like that! How lucky that someone who used to live in the house stopped by to tell you about it.
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