The abandoned farmhouse thread

[Jaxspra]

Those pics make me sad. One of the last abandoned farmhouses here within the City limits just came down to be replaced by a bank and Walgreens (like we dont have more than 7 just in the city alone ). I did manage to save the old smokehouse that was next to the main building. What will happen to it?? Who knows, the developer jacked it up on crates and moved it across town. It is sitting in a vacant field right now until we figure out what to do with it, no one seems to want it (and why would they, its too small to be used for residence, the only thing I can see it being used for is a concension stand or retrooms at a park).
We used to have several farmhouses here (and throughout Missouri there are a ton, this one was smack dab in the middle of the City, surrounded by a Home Depot, Target and new development across the street) and so many have been lost.
Those pics are great, it seems that there are groups or someone, anyone that would want to save and rehab those buildings.

[Cardinal]

...I did manage to save the old smokehouse that was next to the main building. What will happen to it?? Who knows, the developer jacked it up on crates and moved it across town. It is sitting in a vacant field right now until we figure out what to do with it, no one seems to want it (and why would they, its too small to be used for residence, the only thing I can see it being used for is a concension stand or retrooms at a park)...

I had a similar thing happen with a stone barn. It was only about 20x30 feet, one and a half stories high, and still had all of the original stables, flooring, hayloft, stairs, etc inside. We had the state historical society recommend someone to mark it and take it apart so that it could be reassembled somewhere else. I suggested using it in one of the parks along the trial going through the downtown. My thought was that it would be good for housing historical exhibits that could be part of an attraction to lure tourists.

[ahughes798]

On Rte. 120. People still live there, but the property is for sale. I've been in love with this house since the first time I saw it. Archtop windows...big side porch...and a root cellar.

I'm sure it will be knocked down.

[WSU MUP Student]

I loved the collection of photos, in fact, think I saw the house I grew up in in those pictures! Well, not really, but like has been stated before, many of those houses seem to look alike... I guess that throws a wrench in to what we think of as these new cookie-cutter homes; it's been going on for over 100 years like that!

I know some people have wondered why these homes cannot be salvaged and renovated and restored to their original grandeur but having grown up in a house like this one here:


I just cannot imagine that it would be economically feasible. The plumbing in these houses inadequate to say the least and much of the electrical system would need to be re-wired to bring them up to today's codes and many of the rooms will have only one actual outlet. Generally, there is absolutely zero interior insulation and if you're lucky, somebody may have added some exterior insulation sometime along the way. Inside the rooms, there are likely 10 coats or so of lead based paint with a few layers of wall paper thrown in between them for good measure. Lastly, without the proper maintenance over the past 100 years or so, the plasterwork is probably just crumbling away.

If somebody wanted a house with similar architecture in one of these locations, they could probably build from scratch for much cheaper and still get a design that looks like these do. If you are lucky and there isn't much warping due to water and freezing and thawing, you could salvage some of the wood materials from these old homes to put into a new one (e.g. wide wood floorboards, solid wood doors for the interior, bullseyes and frames from interior doors/windows, etc...) and still end up ahead of what it would cost to actually rehab one of these homes.

[wahday]

I was in the Panhandle of Oklahoma (and Texas) about nine years ago, near Boise City. It was one of the most lonely, desolate areas I had ever seen in my life...quite fascinating really. In the Rita Blanca National Grassland, I saw several abandoned farmsteads that looked like they'd been abandoned since the Great Depression.

My family came from Oklahoma and, during the dustbowl, lost the farm and everyone but my grandfather left to go to Arizona and some on to California (he had an opportunity to go to college at Texas Tech in Lubbock). Grapes of Wrath stuff all the way.

Visiting Oklahoma in my youth, I also found this area desolate and lonely. I don't have any details on what happened to their land exactly. Did they sell it? Or, like so many others, did they just pack it all up and simply abandon the property altogether?

I think that's why I like these pics so much. These structures are like gigantic question marks - who lived there? whats the story of this place? The implied narratives are just full of possibility. Very cool thread...

[Chet]

This is BOOK material, SAC. Consider that.

[Linda_D]

I loved the collection of photos, in fact, think I saw the house I grew up in in those pictures! Well, not really, but like has been stated before, many of those houses seem to look alike... I guess that throws a wrench in to what we think of as these new cookie-cutter homes; it's been going on for over 100 years like that!

I know some people have wondered why these homes cannot be salvaged and renovated and restored to their original grandeur but having grown up in a house like this one here:


I just cannot imagine that it would be economically feasible. The plumbing in these houses inadequate to say the least and much of the electrical system would need to be re-wired to bring them up to today's codes and many of the rooms will have only one actual outlet. Generally, there is absolutely zero interior insulation and if you're lucky, somebody may have added some exterior insulation sometime along the way. Inside the rooms, there are likely 10 coats or so of lead based paint with a few layers of wall paper thrown in between them for good measure. Lastly, without the proper maintenance over the past 100 years or so, the plasterwork is probably just crumbling away.

If somebody wanted a house with similar architecture in one of these locations, they could probably build from scratch for much cheaper and still get a design that looks like these do. If you are lucky and there isn't much warping due to water and freezing and thawing, you could salvage some of the wood materials from these old homes to put into a new one (e.g. wide wood floorboards, solid wood doors for the interior, bullseyes and frames from interior doors/windows, etc...) and still end up ahead of what it would cost to actually rehab one of these homes.

What you say is so true. I also grew up in a house much like this ... it was in northern Cattaraugus County in western New York State. When I moved back to the area, I considered buying my old home, but I couldn't come to an agreement with the owners considering that it would need a new septic system as well as major structural repairs -- probably about $30,000-50,000 in work at 1998 prices -- in a depressed rural area where similar homes were going for maybe $ 50,000-$70,000 at the time.

It was just as well -- the county eventually got the property for unpaid taxes and took down the house because they wanted to straighten the road, which would have put the roadbed about two feet from the house.

[katieee]

wow they are adorable, but it would probably take some wealthy person with a lot of time and money to renovate them and save them from suburban sprawl. places like these don't even hardly exist in California.

[Ace22257]

Hello everybody!!! I did a search on Wisconsin abandoned farmhouses and stumbled upon your beautiful pictures. I haven't had any luck finding any links like yours for Wisconsin...not yet anyways. If any of you out here might know of any pictorial links like this for Wisconsin it would be greatly appreciated.
I love this type of photo-taking!!! I've always been attracted to these structures that have withstood the test of time and wrath of Mother Nature.
I first dabbeled with photography back in my mid-20's with a Pentax K1000 35mm "film" camera. I didn't have the best of luck getting decent photo's, having to do manual focusing and having bad eyes, my photo's were quite often blurred or i just didn't like the way they looked. Digital technology has changed all of that for me. I've had this nice plain-jane Kodak EasyShare digital camera for just over 2 years now but i've never used it for anything otherthan to take pictures of the crafty things i make to picture and sell on craigslist. I have an Aunt who's a professional photographer and as of lately she's been sharing 100's of her photograph's with me from her worldly travels.
I was looking at her beautiful picture's one day and for some reason or another i started taking more of an interest in my camera and the world around me. I pass thru very rural Wisconsin farmland (15 miles) to get to work. I just suddenly started to REALLY look at some of the old wethered and beaten barns i pass by every day that sit somewhere along this beautiful route i travel...hence my interest in photography has been re-born.
Back in my early days (23 years ago) when i traveled around Wisconsin using my "film" camera i came across just a couple places...a long abandoned farm & small town country home. I didn't jot down my locations at that time (DUH). I can recall only the location of one of them. Whether or not the structures are still there today i wouldn't know. This was back in 1981.
If anybody happens to be looking for weather beaten structures in Wisconsin, if it's still there today(?) off Hwy 14 W from Madison, Wisconsin is a VERY small farming village called Bosstown that had (at that time) MAYBE 3-5 homes. I cant recall any types of businesses. They're might be an abandoned small general store. Bosstown is clearly marked with a state issued sign, it's unincoporated. This place MIGHT be a city block long if that. Hwy 14 will take you right too it. Back in 1981 there use to be a light yellow/brownish colored stone home. 23 years of weathering the wrath of nature i would imagine it's roof has caved in. Being a stone structure the skeleton of the house should still be there. The interior would be very unsafe to enter as parts of it were caving in back in 1981. It sat on the right hand side just a few yards from the hwy clearly visable...or was, back in 1981.
If the structure is still there today it would be well worth the drive. The farther west from Madison you get on Hwy 14 you'll be passing thru some VERY scenic countryside and many small vilages and farming communities...some of Wisconsin's prettiest hill country that's stunningly beautiful in the Autumn.
I could ramble on and on LOL...if anybody can help me with a direct link to these kinds of places in Wisconsin i'd be enternally grateful.....happy house hunting everyone.....

[Cardinal]

Between Whitewater and Ft. Atkinson, on the north side of the road, was an old motor court. There was a sign atop one of the cabins that said "Haven", I think. I don't know if it is still there since they put in the bypass on Highway 12, but it was a wonderful old abandoned building. We tend not to have many of these abandoned structures in Wisconsin. The exceptions are some crumbling industrial buildings. The old farmhouses tend to get torn down.

If you are ever out west it is wothwhile to seek out some of the more remote mining towns in the mountains, or to get off the interstate to visit some of the small towns in western Nebraska and the Dakotas. Come to think of it, I know some good examples from eastern Colorado too.

I came across an image of the Haven Motel at http://personalpages.tds.net/~oldtoi...aven_motel.htm

Here is another great site I stumbled upon: http://www.opacity.us/locations/#site2

[Ace22257]

I'll have to put this on my list of stops for the coming weekend. You wouldn't by any chance know what village it might be nearby...hwy 12 east runs quite a distance. I'd hate to pass it by. I moved to a rural Oregon location 2 years ago and i've just started searching all the backroads but all i've been able to find is old weathered and beaten barns. I did find one abandoned ghost house that's hidden mostly by folige. I'll be going back too the house to photograph it during the Winter. If you're interested it's a 2-story house located at 6152 County Hwy A just west of Oregon a few miles. Thank you so much for the info....

I came across an image of the Haven Motel at http://personalpages.tds.net/~oldtoi...aven_motel.htm

Here is another great site I stumbled upon: http://www.opacity.us/locations/#site2

[mgk920]

I'll have to put this on my list of stops for the coming weekend. You wouldn't by any chance know what village it might be nearby...hwy 12 east runs quite a distance. I'd hate to pass it by. I moved to a rural Oregon location 2 years ago and i've just started searching all the backroads but all i've been able to find is old weathered and beaten barns. I did find one abandoned ghost house that's hidden mostly by folige. I'll be going back too the house to photograph it during the Winter. If you're interested it's a 2-story house located at 6152 County Hwy A just west of Oregon a few miles. Thank you so much for the info....

It's along US 12/WI 89 between Fort Atkinson and Whitewater. The US 12 Whitewater bypass starts a short distance southeast of its location.

See:
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.asp...cl=1&encType=1

It is in the heavily wooded area on the right side of the highway in the center of the image.

A clearer closeup image, taken during a different time of the year (no leaves on the trees), showing the layout of the site is at:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&...,0.002747&z=19

It looks like it would have been a neat place to stay during a roadtrip in its day.

A Google Streetview image of it is at:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...=12,59.77,,0,5

I've always thought that it would be kewl if someone could give a try at restoring at least part of it to usable condition, as often building shells of that era were very well built.

Enjoy!

Mike

[Linda_D]

Nice photos, SAC. Have you done any research on the "T-form" plan that seems so prevalent in these images? It's not a very prevalent form here in southern Indiana -- we most commonly see the I-House (common to Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, hence the name).

The t-form is ubiquitous in WNY, especially in the rural areas, but also in many small towns as well. They seem to have been built from the 1840s (as the one I grew up in was) into the early 1900s. They are always special to me

[Ace22257]

Thank you Mike. That google link was quite helpful in locating the place. I cant wait to see it as it is now. I'll definately be stopping by the place this coming weekend.

It's along US 12/WI 89 between Fort Atkinson and Whitewater. The US 12 Whitewater bypass starts a short distance southeast of its location.

See:
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.asp...cl=1&encType=1

It is in the heavily wooded area on the right side of the highway in the center of the image.

A clearer closeup image, taken during a different time of the year (no leaves on the trees), showing the layout of the site is at:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&...,0.002747&z=19

It looks like it would have been a neat place to stay during a roadtrip in its day.

A Google Streetview image of it is at:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...=12,59.77,,0,5

I've always thought that it would be kewl if someone could give a try at restoring at least part of it to usable condition, as often building shells of that era were very well built.

Enjoy!

Mike

Every time i come back here and look at the ghost houses you have pictured here i think i see something different in each one of them. Does anyone know of a web link where you can post your photographs of old weathered barns? I have some great photo's of old barns i'd love to share....

[Cardinal]

Another site you may try is www.ghosttowns.com. There are some horrible blinking ads that you have to put up with, but the site has some useful information. Definitely stop back to give us an update on the Haven, and a picture or two.

[Arjay]

This sounds like more of an urban setting although the article describes it as an abandoned farmhouse.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/ga...foreclose.html

[mcitton]

Where demolition is for new development, Ft. Collins, Colorado has had some luck requiring these homes be fixed up and incorprated into the new development. If its a singel-family type development, it makes perfect sense that you can fix up this house and leave it standing on a lot in the new street network. We've even seen farmhouses and barns preserved as HOA community centers. When you're building dozens or hundreds of homes, it should be feasible to fix up the old one, given it can then be sold.

We've even had interest in moving homes where they are in the way of commercial development - say along the old highways that sued to be rural and are now beign developed. Moving houses - esepcially wood frame - and palcing them on a foundation eslewhere is nothing new and was more common in earlier eras. Often it can be done for about $25,000 (if the mvoe is local) plus of course the cost of land, development fees, and foundation for the new lot.

Of course, the cost of housing in Colorado is relatively high compared to much of the midwest, say. But, old homes in growing areas fetch a good price on the market. It's supply and demand - they simply don't build any more historic homes.

[RockyMtnGuy]

These look a lot like houses I lived in when I was younger.

When I got a older I had an interesting experience. I bought an 80 year old Victorian-style house in a nice neighborhood. More precisely, it was a style called "Greek Revival", which was popular 80 years ago. There were only two 2-story houses on the block, mine and the one next door.

Over the next 25 years, the whole area started to look like my house. The whole neighborhood ended up being two or two-and-a-half story Victorian style houses that looked a lot like my house.

At that point I sold out at an incredible profit and retired to the mountains to devote the rest of my life to skiing.

However, the last time I checked, my old neighborhood had gone so far upmarket that I got nosebleeds just looking at it. It was all 3-story Victorian yuppie mansions with underground parking. However, despite my assumptions that they would just bulldoze it (it was 100 years old) and build something huge, my old house was still there and the roof was original. Everything else about it was new. I guess they just liked the design.

Anyhow, I guess the moral of this story is that people just love the old classical designs. You can't beat them for architectural beauty.

[tilia2]

Great Thread. My Grandmother used to live in Lancaster Co., Va. and we would drive around and she would comment on these old falling down places "if I was rich, I would buy all these places and tear them down" I would say "if I was rich. I would buy all these places and fix them up". It seems that many places only persist for one generation, or two, from simple farmhouses to large mansions in our inner cities. We are so mobile and land and homes are just another commodity. You see a lot of old falling down farmhouses in Ohio and Indiana with the newer one story vinyl home built on the same property. I have been noticing at a lot of 'L" shaped houses lately.

[TerraSapient]

Some extraordinary photographs here! I recognize some of the places too! So exciting to see pictures of my old hometown area.

[TerraSapient]

Nearly forgot... I agree with Chet, this is book material!

[indiajpp]

Hi Super Cat! I visit Souther Illinois quite often, Mt. Vernon area. Could you tell me where to find some of these homes? I would love to photograph them. Are all of these beautiful pictures you took in Mt. Vernon area? Are these the counties you have listed?
Would appreciate any feedback you could give me.
Thanks!
Cyndi

[Linda_D]

Not an abandoned farmhouse but a glorious abandoned barn in the little town of Sheffield, PA which is in NW PA south of Warren. If I had beaucoup bucks, I'd have it taken apart piece by piece and resurrected on my land in Cattaraugus County. Maybe I'd make it into a house. I just love it.



Here's a link to more images of this wonderful barn: Old Barn

[Super Amputee Cat]

In the upcoming weeks, I'll be updating some of my old pictures plus adding some new ones:

Here are the first two:


2005

2010

2005


2010