While riding through the country I saw these two abandoned houses across the road from each other. The roof of the white house is growing moss and if it does not leak now, soon will.The vents on the dorma are rooting and unpainted. There are tell tale signs all around the house that no one lives there, even though there are curtains in the windows. A peek through a crack in the lace curtains revealed that there is still furniture in the living room. The mailbox still stands and out back under the carport awning is a chair that looks like someone just got up and left.
The other house is across the road from the front of the house. It may have been a tenant house or a store building, but its last use must have been a storage house, judging from the varied items that rest on and around the porch.
I thought of all kinds of stories that could explain the state of affairs, but none were very happy. Maybe whoever lived there died suddenly, leaving no interested heirs. Perhaps a lawsuit keeps the property in continual limbo. Perhaps the heirs are old and/or infirm and cannot afford to keep the place up. Maybe it is a sort of mausoleum for the dead owners.
I also wonder why a tenant house was built almost in the front yard of the main house. Maybe it was not a tenant house, but the house the family lived in before they built the other house and later used for storage. Maybe the house was a store and was built in that position so that the store could easily be seen by the invalid daughter whose job it was to announce loudly when a customer came up. Maybe the current owners feel that there is nothing of value about the house to be worried with. The residents may have been so saintly that nothing material they left behind could compare with the legacy of their lives.
You already know I am fascinated by old house and their stories. I wish I knew more about this one.
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