Quick House History Lesson

I have shared my blog and pictures of my house, but how about a quick lesson?

My tiny little 1100 square feet house was built in 1952. It has had 3 families, including mine, occupying it. The first, built the house and stayed in it until 1954. After that, my great grandparents, Willie and Bernice bought it.

My Nanny (their daughter) lived here from the time she was 12 until she married my grandpa. Something I didn't learn until after I already lived here was that they were married in my living room, just a few feet from where I am sitting. It was not a shotgun wedding, my mom was a honeymoon baby born 10 months later.

Willie and Bernice died in 1972 and 1973, respectively. All of their belongings, the house, the land, etc went into a trust between my Nanny and her 4 brothers.

My Nanny's oldest brother took care of the house then. He actually came to town to take showers and use the phone because the extremely small house/shanty he lived in didn't really have those accomodations. His son and daughter in law lived here for a brief stint in the later 70's or some time in the early 80's.

In the 90's my great uncle built a new house and no longer had a need for the town phone and shower.

After that, it sat empty. My Poppy (My Nanny's husband) was paid for upkeep and maintenance. He mowed the yard twice weekly in the summers, and checked every Friday on his way to the grocery store.

When I graduated from college, I talked with my family about buying it cheaply so we could fix it up. Everyone said we would not buy it, they would just deed it over. Well, all but one of my great uncles children, he passed away a few years before.

The cousin who lived here with his wife in the 70/80's was offered, by the great uncle's children who didn't want us to have the house for nothing, to buy their share of the family land. He agreed, but also wanted their share of the house.

Once that happened, he deeded it right over to Chance and I. I repeated the same process with the other brothers kids and here we are now.

While this 2 bedroom house is nothing like the house my great grandparents lived in, it still has some great history. My only hope is that they can see all the work we have done and are pleased. I know my Nanny would love the turquoise paint in the kitchen, it was one of her favorite colors.