Bonjour from Campagne MaisonHere I go confessing again!! Another thing that many of you do not know about me is that I am a lover of all things old. I easily get lost in the era of times gone by, especially when I come upon a gem like this!
One of my favorite things “in the whole wide world” to do is tour old homes and old grave yards. That may sound weird to a lot of you but it is heaven to me.
I can just imagine this house in its “heyday”. Structurally, for its age, it is still in good shape, That is, except for the front porch that spans the entire width of the home. Can’t you just imagine all the footsteps that walked across there?
This home, which is rather spacious for it’s time period, appears to have housed a large family. There are two front entrances and five windows. It is hard to see in the pictures but the pieced in wood around the center window suggests that it was built in at a later date. This would make sense, architecturally, that there was a “dog trot” between the two areas, separating the living quarters from the sleeping quarters. As you can see from the side view there is only one large chimney. It sits to the rear of the home, suggesting that area to be the heart of the home—the kitchen.
The screened in area across the rear back side may have been a sleeping porch. That is only my assumption, because unfortunately, since I am not from this area, I know nothing about the history of this beautiful homestead. It may have just been a nice cool place for the family to eat their meals during the dog days of summer. There is no evidence of any inside plumbing and the remains of an old “outhouse” lie on the ground out back, close to the barn. There is farm equipment in there, and it appears to have been maintained specifically for that purpose and there are cows grazing in the surrounding pasture.
This definitely is a home that houses many memories to someone in the area. It remains standing as a legacy to honor the family that built it, that birth and reared their children in it, and more than likely, that died in it. The only thing that would have made this find even better would have been for me to actually go inside and get a real feel for the home.
This definitely is a home that houses many memories to someone in the area. It remains standing as a legacy to honor the family that built it, that birth and reared their children in it, and more than likely, that died in it. The only thing that would have made this find even better would have been for me to actually go inside and get a real feel for the home.
History. It makes me wish there really was such a thing as time travel. But, since there is not, I do have my imagination which is actively at work. I see myself as the lady of that home, sitting in my rocking chair on that front porch at the end of a long, weary day. As I rock the worries of the world away, perhaps snapping beans or mending clothing, I watch my children at play in the yard until the fireflies fill the darkening sky in the beautiful Sweetwater Valley here in East Tennessee.
Please leave a comment if you stopped by the farmhouse today. We just love having company.
Au revoir,
7 comments:
You should get closer or even go inside, but very carefully. The floor is probably in bad shape. There might be some old stuff still in there. Thinking of old times is a good thing. TL
Our grandmother had a screened in back porch where she kept the milk in a container (can't remember what kind) to keep it cool and let the cream rise to the top to make butter for sale and for use. She also let us sleep -since we were such a large family--out there in the summer. I remember looking out the screen up at the moon and becoming frightened because the screen made the moon look like a big CROSS, I thought the end of the world was coming. She also had a large table and the icebox out there later. I can't remember if we ever ate there though.
The front porch was also the length of the house but did not have the homey effects that the back porch did and it face the "old dirt road" so IF anyone should happen by in a wagon or a CAR it would stir up dust making it not very comfortable to sit out and enjoy.
The house was built on sorta high blocks on each corner with some underneath it to hold it up instead of the foundations that we have now. We used to play under the house...we'd sneak out her table spoons and dig ditches and holes under there...Grandpa would chastise us for that. We also shared that play space with our cousins and the CHICKENS when they came in out of the heat.
Such memories. Wouldn't it be wonderful for our children to have such memories as that?
JO
Hi Jacque,
Thank you for sharing. I often wonder about old building as well as to their history and especially with old houses, just who loved them and the times spent there with loved ones.
It sounds like you're going to have a beautiful weekend with your sisters and mother. Enjoy celebrating all you Mother's Day festivities together!
xo~Tracie
Thanks for the comment, just seen it last night.
I would love to go in that house and look around, I am too a lover of old things
Happy Mothers Day! What a great hobby! Have you ever been to Boston and seen all the great old cementaries? Your imagination would run wild there. Your neck of the woods is charming and I would imagine that there is much history! Thank you for stopping by; your words soothed my soul. When I brought out the dolly, I was inconsolable; I wept profusely whenever I see it, BUT your words helped me see this doll in a different light. Thank you ou bien, merci de tout de mon coeur Jacques...have an awesome day! Anita
Oh, I understand....my family and I can spend hours in an old cemetary. I too love old things. You are lucky to have so much to see around you. I live in the yucky old city!! LOL...but hopefully someday I'll get out of here!
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