How to find history of a particular old house?

Question

We bought a house built in 1920. When it was built it was a lake cottage, and throughout the years owners have added on to it and improved it, turning it into a 'real' house. In the backyard there are remnants of a little stone walkway and some concrete slabs in odd places. Is there any kind of national registry for old houses where I might be able to find out more about this house, or a local resource? I'd love to know what all happened here, and who all lived here, these past 87 years!! Thanks for reading.

Answer 1

Your first stop should be the county or city office where deeds are registered for your area. Sometimes this will be in a city, but often it will be at your county seat--a lot depends on how things are set up in your state (Virginia, for instance, has counties and independent cities and these entitiies often prove a real headache even for native Virginians).

You can trace the chain of ownership by beginning with the Grantors' Index, which will list the date and from whom the property was conveyed to whoever in your family puchased it.

You can then go to the Grantees' Index to see from whom those people purchased the property, and so on back to the time when the house was built (in the county where I live, the earliest date in the Grantors' Index is in the 1730's).

Be aware that, at some point, you're likely to come to a description that will not be your basic "house and lot at 123 Your Street, Ourtown, County of Weliveinit, Thisstate" and come to a description of a parcel of land that will describe the property's dimensions ("beginning at an iron stake at the intersection of Your Street and My Avenue, continuing east for one hundred feet, then continuing north for another 150 feet to an oak tree, then continuing west for another 125 feet to the eastern bank of Dirty Creek, continuing south along said bank for another 75 feet to the sugar maple, then continuing northeast for another 30 feet to the original iron stake"--or even measurements in rods, chains, and links!).

Once you've run the chain of title, you can research the various families who might have lived there through birth, death, and tax records. The newspaper archives can also be helpful.

It sounds daunting, and it will require a lot of man or woman hours, but it can also be fascinating to learn the history of your property.

Happy hunting!

Answer 2

You can go to the library and see if there is any info or books on the area, or ask at the library if there is a local historian, or a historical society. Sometimes they collect photos and info about areas and they may know who lived there previously. You can also go to the tax assessors office, or your local title company and ask for an owner's history of the property in order to get a list of people who have previously owned the home. Or you can put an ad in the local paper asking if anyone has any info!

Good luck, Have fun!

Answer 3

I love places like that too! You can try the property appraiser of your town, the zoning department, and the tax office. They should have records on file to at least get you started. Unless it was an official historical site, they may not have an actual registry. Another cool idea would be to start asking around your neighborhood. You would be suprised how much "dirt" people know! Good luck...sounds like a lovely place. ;)

Answer 4

County and city records.

Answer 5

Courthouse contains deeds and ALL public records for that address.
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