Suzie - 2004-09-24 18:39:52
Upon closer examination, and in the interest of full disclosure, I would have to admit that it seems that the houses pictured are our two neighbors on either side, and that our house would be in the middle. Especially since we didn't think our house was quite that old. BUT, since neither of my neighbors are likely to be ogling century+ old maps anytime soon, I'm mentally drawing ourselves in.* * * * * * * * * * * *
:) That's funny. I was charmed by your map comment because it was cool to see how such an ethereal entity as a tiny blog, floating in nowheresville cyberspace, led one person to draw a concrete connection with her community and past--nice to see the community-building power of blogs.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-24 19:25:35
What a wonderful site. Thanks!
Our former house on Michigan Ave near Prospect (then Cemetery, they moved the graveyard to make way for expansion) doesn't appear. I thought parts of our (former) house of 1860s age. Guess not.
The balloon frame construction, square-cut nails, and other attributes put the house in that range of age, but we can't quibble with this darling document facsimile.
Nails and lumber were commonly recycled in them thar days, so the physical evidence may belie the documentary. * * * * * * * * * * * * lynne - 2004-09-24 19:27:41
My house isn't on that map because it wasn't built yet. But, it sure was fun looking around at the houses that were there back when this map was made including two of my favorites: The Gilbert Mansion and that gothic looking house that is just across the street from it. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-24 19:50:48
Many thanks to Suzie for pointing out this wonderful map! Turns out I'm off the right side of the map, some blocks east of Prospect Par--, er, the cemetery, which is bisected by the righthand edge of the map. Here's a look at the cemetery (the house is roughly where Boggs' gas station is now; you can see a bit of Cemetery Road, now named Prospect) with what may be 4 big graves:
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Raymond: wow, sounds like a beautiful old house you have. But I'm happy in my little returning-G.I.-starter-family 1948 bungalow, though.
Lynne: yes, isn't it fun to poke around? I'm gonna go see if I can see the Thompson Building; don't remember offhand ho old it is.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-24 19:54:37
oops. "how old."* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-24 20:04:53
Thompson Building, smoking away. You can also see a corner of the candy store that was smashed to bits in [rapidly pages through James Mann's "Footnotes in History" and "Down by the Depot" to no avail] um, sometime after 1868, and is now the Sidetrack Patio. [returns to furious research to find the year...]
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That's a great map, and I found my place in the Adams st. neighborhood. Are the renderings of the houses supposed to be accurate? My apartment house has a separate large garage, and it's indicated on the map. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-25 09:51:12
Wow--you actually found your house on this post-Civil War map! Yes, DaveD, from what I've read panoramic bird's-eye maps like this one (I've also got one here at home of AA) were immensely popular in the late 19th century. They were used to promote businesses and as an artifact of civic pride, and they were drawn with painstaking accuracy. They're generally regarded by historians as among the more reliable of historic documents. Very cool that you found your house.* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: