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Abandoned Homesteads

Started by Ron Scott, April 26, 2006, 06:34:13 PM

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crtreedude

I remember when I was a child that on one of the farms my grandfather owned there was a homestead that we called "The Shepherd's place" We used to go to it to gather up asparagus and concord grapes.

I never did know the story behind it - but for some reason it has stuck in my mind for all these years. I was seven the last time I went there.

So, how did I end up here anyway?

thecfarm

I know what you mean.My Father use to say The Clark place,the Gordon place,The Martin place.Most of our land were old small farms.I can still find the old cellar holes.There were one old house still standing when I was growing up,long gone now.These people would come to my grandparents and ask them to buy the land.My Grandfather had a job at the local papermill when other people had no job.My Father can remember one family putting every they owned onto a hay wagon and left the hill.We had a schollhouse and a post office on top of the hill.Long gone now.At one time only one family lived here.Now there are 7 homes.We live at the beginning of a dead end road,so we get all the traffic going up and coming down.That's where a 500 foot driveways comes in handy.
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Den Socling

When we were kids, we went by 'Pringles' on the way to town. it had been a brick mansion at one time but was falling down. The fields were covered with saplings and it had a huge, falling down barn. being a dumb kid, I was exploring the barn one day and found a room built from stone. it was under the ramp that lead into the main doors above the animal pens. In it I found this:



Pretty cool. A beer bottle that had a cork stopper. The name was American Brewing and the ABC logo reminds me of Anhauser Busch.

Paschale

Sometimes, I see an abandoned, old house, that seems to still have a little life in it--it hasn't gone so far to be a total goner.  There's been one of those I've watched for several years on my way to work.  A huge, old, beautiful home that I can see from the highway.  One day, last year, I suddenly saw that someone was putting siding up on it, and it now looks like one of the most amazing homes I've ever seen.  Somebody else musta been watchng it for years, and finally took the plunge.  It's nice when they get redeemed like that.  It'll be around for a long time now!   8) 8)
Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

crtreedude

We lived for about 8 years in a home that once was the summer home of a mayor of Rochester NY. Very interesting place. Of course, the challenge with a really hold home is it just wants to go back to nature - lots of repairs, all the time, or so it seemed.

One of the really nice things in the house was that the front room had a floor with heating pipes through it. Early morning, with a cup of coffee in the winter was wonderful - you would find a hot spot and just enjoy!

So, how did I end up here anyway?

solodan

Not many abandoned homesteads around here, cause people buy them for a million $ and live in them. There are  some on USFS and BLM land which are historical and some even get restored to appear that they are still falling down. ??? Sometimes You will find parts of old barns and houses in what is now a 50 year old subdivision, but what you find most is old stamp mills and gold mines. You have to be real carefull when digging in these areas now there are lots of old and unstable exlposives.  :o

thurlow

Interesting thread, especially for those of us with a nostalgic turn-of-mind.  No abandoned homesteads around here, but there were a lot of abandoned houses in the '50s and '60s as farmers left the animal/human labor and turned to mechanical means.  Most of 'em were simple 4-6 room tenant houses built after the War of Northern Agression  :'( and on up thru the '40s.  At one time I counted up the ones my dad and I had torn down; could count at least 23.  All on property that we were renting and which belonged to someone else;  they were (mostly) falling down and the owner(s) wanted them gone.  People who had lived in them were families who worked the land on shares (sharecroppers); a system which was at the same time simpler and more complicated than has been portrayed by the media.  One of the houses predated the war and looked like the typical plantation house.  Owner said tear it down............never understood that; it had been his grandparents home.  Another was also an older/better house.  My wife and I lived in it for 7 years when we were first married; it was of post and beam construction.  All that's left of it is this peg which tied 2 timbers together.  I keep it in my office as a reminder of .........whatever.   
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Den Socling

what war was that???  :D

Bro. Noble

We have an old farmstead known as the Ol Driskell place.  Ol (short for Oliver) was evidentally quite an ambitious fellow and built a nice two story house in the early 1900's.  There was a big barn,  grainery, blacksmith shop,  chicken house,  and a few other buildings.  All are still there and pretty much usable except for the barn which was removed for the materials.  The place is all timber now and you can only drive to the buildings when we are logging in that area and open up the roads.  There are still a few signs of rail fence that Ol built and there are tons and tons of rock piles where he icked rocks from his fields.

In the mid 50's ol was getting to where he couldn't keep his place up and they didn't have any children, so when a wealthy grain farmer from Iowa made him an offer on his place,  he sold it.  The new owner told Ol that he was welcome to live there as long as he wanted to and Ol accepted his offer.  That worked fine for a couple of years and then the new owner planted pines in all of the open fields and pastures :o  Ol had spent his entire life cleaning up those fields and cutting pine sprouts off of them >:(  The Driskells moved to town and died soon after.

The Iowa owner also began to feel his age and the trips to Mo.  became less enjoyable for him.  In 1969 Dad and I bought the Driskell place since it joined our place.

A couple of years ago when Whitepe and his lovely wife visited us,  we walked back to the old housesite.  There was what appeared to be some kind of a nest in the old farmyard and the carcass of a large buck was nearby.  The bones were cleaned,  but it hadn't been there long enough for mice to chewed the antlers.  It had me puzzeled.  There are sightings of big cats in the area and bears are seen from time to time.  The area didn't look right for that,  however.  

While cutting logs,  we have come across areas that has had the ground disturbed.  Looks like giant turkeys have worked the area over.  This has been going on for a couple of years and has been a mystery to us.

A couple of weeks ago a friend stopped and talked to my son Tom while he was loading logs near the highway.  He had just seen 6 or 8 hogs cross the highway about a mile south.  They were headed toward our sawmill so he drove in there to see if he could see them.  They went right by the mill (where BB Tom was camping at the time :o) and headed for the woods.  The next week Dad saw where they had been rooting close to his house which is about halfway between the mill and the Driskell house.  The next week,  Dad saw them just the other side of the Driskell place.  

I guess the old Driskell place isn't completely abandoned :D :D

I been keeping my hog gun handy ;)
milking and logging and sawing and milking

thurlow

Den, that would have been the war mentioned earlier in my post................ smiley_old_guy
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Ron Scott

Abandoned Homestead. The farm must have "gave out". Osceola county; 6/06.




~Ron

Tom

We have an Osceola County in Florida too.  It was named after Chief Osceola, a Seminole that raised a lot of cane around here for a while back in the Indian War.

I see that Michigan's Osceola County used to be Unwaltin, named for an Ottawa Chief up there.  I wonder why they decided to change the name?

Ron Scott

Osceola County was also named after Seminole Indian warrior, Chief Osceola, who fought the U.S. in the Second Seminole War in 1837. After defeating U.S. troops in several battles, he finally agreed to Gen.Thomas Jesup's request to meet under a flag of truce to discuss peace. But Jesup captured him there and imprisoned him at Fort Moultrie, SC, where he soon died. Due to Jesup's deception, Osceola's name grew highly respected. Many towns and counties in the U.S. were named after Osceola as a protest.
~Ron

Ron Scott

Abandoned Homestead. Another abandoned homestead a few miles north from the one pictured above. Also in Osceola County; 6/06. Mysteries of the past.


~Ron

Ron Scott

Abandoned U.P. Homestead. Northwest of Bark River, MI


~Ron

weimedog

Here in New York its no mystry why some homesteads are left too the elements,,

Its COLD as hell in the winter...we have 5 month winters.
Fuel is expensive.
Industry is moving away because of the costs
Taxes are very high.

Alabama looks more attractive every year.
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SwampDonkey

Got one local farmer here that tears down the old places as he buys them up, there was an old church on one site they tore down a couple years ago. I dunno why we never had pictures of the old places dad bought up, buildings are long gone now. I remember on one site there was this old chicken coop left in the middle of a 150 acre field and we'd see baby fox pups there sometimes. I remember some butt went and took the pups once.  ::) Some one burnt the upper Royalton School last year, but we still have the lower Royalton School. Alot of them old schools got converted to WI community Halls. WI stands for Woman's Institute, my mother was a member and president a couple times.

First Women's Institute

Federated Women's Institute of Canada

includes link to ADELAIDE HUNTER HOODLESS HOMESTEAD whose idea it was to form a women's institute.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Ron Scott

Abandoned Homestead. A farm house long gone.


~Ron

Tom

I saw that house when I was visiting Jeff.  It had sign out front  For Sale, Brokaw built.  Model homes in an Agrarian Community., :)

beenthere

Did anyone mention it needed a roof........... ::) ???                         :)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Jeff

I forgot, I took a couple pictures of some Dandys while I was gone. I'll have to dig them up.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Jeff

We turned in a tral and spotted something down acrossed a power line, I walked dwon the power line to get a closer look. All signs of a drive are now gone and trees grow right up next to the old house.




Closer view of the front. I thought about walking in as the house looked so square and solid. Until I got close. Its on an old Michigan Basement and just barely holding on on the 4 corners.


Here is a view around the side and back


And look whats in the back yard. The car is still there. :)


This one looks pretty good, until you walk around back and see part of the roof missing. Somehow I didnt get a picture of that.


This one here was over off from Hannah road, real close to where Tom and I got stranded this summer for a bit. It was quite lovely with the sun flower field growing right up against and around it and its old barn.

Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

The house in your last picture is alot like the old farm houses built around here and most were on rock walls with rain water cisterns. 1880's to 1920's
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Jeff

Here is a photo of whats holding up house number one in my previous post. Not much. I took the photo because it was darker then snot under there and I wanted to see what was down there critter wise. Ya never know, I was bear hunting after all. ;D   


Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

I walked right onto one of them bear dens the other day and cut bushes at his doorstep. I feel brave as Beowulf now. :D  ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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