Colonial Farmhouse Six Year Anniversary
Time flies when you’re restoring, renovating, and generally making a home! We have been the stewards of this colonial farmhouse for 6 years now.
The anniversary was actually in June, but I was ankle deep in mortar dust with the Carriage House renovation. Besides, it’s really a blip, as is our ownership, in the grand scheme of this old gal’s 250(ish) year history.
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I enjoy poetry. It is so relatable because it often captures what we are feeling but don’t know how to express with our own words.
There’s a poem called Old Houses by Robert Cording. It reads as follows.
I’m not entirely sure about the birds being in the eaves, but my goodness gracious! Who knew a poem about old houses was going to punch me right in the feelings! I’m sorry I didn’t warn you.
The line in the poem “how old houses hold themselves” has been stuck in my head ever since I read it.
It’s such an apt observation, don’t you think?
Our house is at the extreme end of the age spectrum here in the U.S., but most homes will end up being “old” homes eventually. However you want to define old. Speaking as a person who is lucky enough to be aging, let’s not rush that definition.
I often wish our house could talk and tell the tales of the people and events it has held vigil over since it was built in the 1780s.
In a small way, I suppose our house does talk every time we open up a wall or peel back a layer of wallpaper.
There are little clues about who lived in the house at any given time and their interests and circumstances.
We filter through these clues to decide which ones are relevant to how we can honor this home’s long history while making it into a home that works for our modern family.
The bright orange paint?
Maybe not relevant.
The original door hardware?
Much more so.
Time has proven that if nothing else, this house has been adaptable for the dozens of “modern” families who have lived here over the centuries.
We’re all modern for a fleeting moment – no matter what your kids say.
According to my deed research, I’m fairly confident that dozens is a safe and generic enough number to describe the small, but dedicated club of people who have owned this colonial farmhouse since the late 1700s.
The house exchanged hands far more often than I thought it would in the first half of the 20th century and, over time, it did become a much smaller piece of land. The longest stretch of ownership that I have found so far was from the previous owners who lived here for almost 50 years.
I’m only confident that I have followed the right paper trail from the present back to the late 1800s. I still have another 100 years of deed books (actual physical books with difficult-to-read, handwritten legal documents) to sort through to see if I can find who originally built this house.
Sadly, that tidbit may be lost to history. If there wasn’t a loan, there might not be a record of it. Also, a huge shoutout to the record keepers among us. You are quietly working behind the scenes to preserve all of these documents and the world would cease to function – nothing could get done – without you.
It is interesting to me that as many homeowners as this house has welcomed and as technology and style have evolved, so many details have remained the same in this house.
The original guts of the house – the framing, foundation, roof trusses – are all still here. Even the floors haven’t changed in the vast majority of the house. Sure, the house has been added onto, so it’s not all dated to the 1700s, but the last addition was presumably around one hundred years ago.
Ironically, the newest part was in the worst shape when we moved in. What’s up with that?
On the whole though, the longevity of this house is a testament to the original craftsmanship of this home, so much luck and good fortune, and a high degree of care from a long string of homeowners.
No pressure to keep it going or anything.
If I could meet and personally thank the person who installed indoor plumbing and electricity in this house, I would. I’m sure we would be fast friends. Kindred spirits.
I’d bake them a loaf of bread in my electric oven. We could stay up past dark and not have to light any candles unless we wanted to for ambiance. I’d introduce them to the internet….they’d probably be horrified.
And I would be so grateful that even though we’ve done a lot of hard projects in the last six years, at least we had a flushing toilet, electricity, power tools, and YouTube tutorials to get us through.
We’ve also had each of you cheering us on through the various projects. You don’t know how much we appreciate receiving that bit of goodness from you.
You’ve heard me say it before. We would do all the same things if no one was watching or reading, but it is more fun to share it with friends.
If you’re concerned that we are running out of projects to tackle, don’t be. That electricity and plumbing I mentioned a few paragraphs ago? It could really use an update and that’s just one thing on the project list.
You also don’t need to worry about Handy Husband getting bored. If the house doesn’t give us things to do, my active imagination has a few ideas I’d love to implement. No time for boredom!
Do you keep track of the number of years you’ve lived in your home? What did you think of the Old Houses poem? I’d love to know! Please comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook. I respond to all of your comments and sometimes even in a timely manner!
Here’s to many more happy years!
Once again, thank you for following along with our home renovation journey and our lives! Some of you have watched our kids grow up. We appreciate your support and encouragement. Here are some other posts from this series.
Colonial Farmhouse One Year Anniversary
Colonial Farmhouse Two Year Anniversary
Colonial Farmhouse Three Year Anniversary
You May Also Like
Painted Black Doors in our Colonial Farmhouse
Built-In Computer Desk Reveal
