This is A Story About My House.

Is it interesting to anyone besides me? You decide!

Photo c. 1985, recovered from an old housing survey prepared by Mr. K.

The story begins with Mr. K, who owned the house in the 1980s. When he moved in, there was an unusual stone pillar out front next to the driveway. He wanted to know why it was there, but the property is difficult to research because a lot of key documentation has been lost. Therefore, he turned to early documents about the town's history in hopes of stumbling upon information about his property.

One early document about our area mentions a stone boundary marker. Mr. K decided, incorrectly, that the stone object near his house was this boundary marker, and dated the house to 1863. He extrapolated an elaborate history and would repeat it to anyone who would listen. The people who owned the house before us gave us a packet of information he had assembled, and for years, we believed its contents. Then, one day, I decided to frame and hang up a document related to the house's history, and realized that there actually weren't any.

In order to prove Mr. K wrong, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I began searching for the real age of the house. Census records from around the time when the town was established listed the residents as Frank and Mary Wood, and a boarder named Walter. Walter's profession was listed as 'marble driver,' and this was the first clue that got me really excited, because we live near a large cemetery... did our house have some connection?

J. F. Wood Marble and Granite Yard

Sure enough, right down the street is a headstone carving business called Wood Monument Company. I sent them a message... "This might sound weird, but did you have a relative named Frank?" The owner got right back to me. J. Frank Wood was his great uncle. The headstone business has been in his family for four generations, having been started by J. Frank's father before the Civil War. I was stunned, and so happy and honored to have the information that Mr. Wood was able to share.

P.S., support your local libraries, folks. I did all of my research from the comfort of my home, with the help of my library card.