Abandoned House on County Line Road

 

 

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.

Another Abandoned House

This is what remains of my great grandparents home in Penton, Alabama. It is sad to see it in such shape, but I guess it takes more money and care to repair and sustain a place of this age than anyone in the family has.This was the first brick house (as opposed to brick veneer as we see for the most part now) built in the area.
The garden was to the right in the picture and that is where Joanne planted her annual poppies. She would not allow Ed to plow the garden until late, after most people already had theirs in, because she wanted to keep the poppies till they had finished their bloom. Poppies were not the only thing Joanne wanted to save. She left her Christmas tree up for months after Christmas, till all the needles were on the floor surrounding it. The ornaments hung forlornly to the bare branches. She said it made her sad to take it down and since it was in the living room which was not used much, she just left it, even refusing help to take it down.
Also to the right there was a small decorative fish pool for goldfish. It was not used in my lifetime but I remember it because I was always cautioned to stay clear of it. From the time I first saw it in a state of ruin, I hoped that one day when I visited there would be fish and flowers around it.
To the left in the picture was a smokehouse like everyone used to have, Typically it was used to cure and store pork and home canned goods. Joanne's was completely filled with stuff she was saving. Once I found some white hankies there with embroidery in the corner that said Havana. Some of my great uncles lived in Florida and made excursions to Cuba, which was not closed then. Those uncles smoked stinking (at least to my childish nose) cigars which I am sure came from Cuba. The smokehouse held other oddities that her children had brought back from their travels, but I believe she relegated them to the smokehouse because they smelled of cigar smoke. Even as a small child, I could feel the exotic tropical winds blowing through my heart (when I die, I hope I go to Sanibel)when I looked at those handkerchiefs.
My great granddad Ed was elderly when I remember him. He was mostly bedridden and required assistance to get up and sit in a chair. I was very afraid of him because he had a walking stick which he would use to grab me around the neck and pull me closer to him. Now I see that he just wanted me to come close and talk to him, but it terrified me. He was a religious man and was instrumental in getting the Church of God established at Penton. He had a friend named Mr. Swift and they often discussed religious ideas. One time during a discussion of reincarnation Mr. Swift said he wanted to come back as a water buffalo.While this is amusing in its own right, I am left wondering... Why?

Old Houses

 

This house has not had anyone living in it for at least 30 years. It is apparently used for old appliance storage, at least the porch is. I have never been inside the house. As you can see the porch is home to several appliances: a washer,refrigerator,perhaps a chest freezer, and a toilet. Maybe the person who owns this thinks they may be in need of several boat anchors. The house seemed sound when it was first chosen as a repository for things that would otherwise be recycled or in the dump. Now the middle pillar on the porch has a decided lean as if the weight over time is taking its toll. Interestingly to the right of the house, outside the picture frame is the steel skeleton for a building. It has stood there for several years with no further progress made on it. The area around the house is kept neatly mowed, maybe with a bush hog as this house is inside a pasture. I have never seen a cow near the house.

Old Houses

 
 

I am interested in abandoned houses and often wonder why they were abandoned. Did the ravages of time make the structure unsafe? Did the people who lived there get a chance for a better more modern house? In the top picture you see a fireplace in the other room which has been partially torn out. Maybe there was a heater in that fireplace and the brick was dislodged when it was removed. In the lower picture notice how wide those floor boards are. You don't get to choose lumber like that for flooring anymore but those must have come from some fine trees.