Have you ever looked around your yard or neighborhood, and wondered what it looked like 100 or 200 years ago? I think about that kind of thing. It was brought to mind recently because I was reading a "Title Abstract" for a property in which we had an interest; the history of the property was fascinating, starting as a farm, being passed down to the owner's son, then subdivided, and then some lots being combined because they were too small for the houses to be built upon them. My house has a deed, but not a Title Abstract, so to see the past, you have to go to the courthouse and look at past deeds. It is wonderful to handle pieces of history like that, the papers typed or even handwritten (if old enough) by people long gone, and absorb the history of the ground on which you stand.
So what has this to do with Garden Tuesday? Easy. This is Old Madison Lane.
See the tree lines? Some are original. Some are replacements. All are on the original street line; if the street had not been moved, it would run straight through my living room.
This is the west side of the street; you'd have been viewing this side of the trees from a cow pasture, or from the front yards of tiny houses which were supposedly along the street 100 or more years ago.
Look around your own yard, even if you live in an apartment, and think of the lives gone by which have been there. It's a fascinating pastime. You'll see your world in a different light.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
14 comments:
Great post! :) Today has a lot to do with just looking around, huh?
I share your pastime...I love to go through old papers and pictures and ponder the lives and times of the people in them. When the news is overwhelming (and lately it always seems to be) I wonder about the people who lived through Germany in the 30's or Russia in the 20's .. did they just get up each day and carry on? Did they have a glimpse of the future they had to live through.. I wonder what people living in 2090 will think of 2012 and what parts of us will survive to clue them in to what our lives were like...
Now see what you've done? This could go on for quite some time. My main passion is the lives of the Mayflower passengers...how on earth did they do it? Off I go to the library.
Hi Marjie, our town was only settled in 1842 so where our home is would have been natural vegetation and nothing else. Well possibly a kangaroo or two hehe. We do have about six old photos of our town from around early 1900s and they are amazing. I would love to slip back in time just for a day to see what it was all like. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory
We are thinking similar thoughts.
I love that kind of history. I love driving on old roads that used to be main roads.
Our backyard used to be a farm.
We have the Cadastral plan 1839 of our property and garden. At that stage it was divided into 3. It is interesting to see that most of the buildings are still pretty much the same now as in the plan. Diane
When my dad was alive, one time we got the abstract out for his property. It was really interesting who owned that property through the years, how it was taken from the Indians, and then slowly divided and broken down into smaller parcels.
I play that game on virtually every walk I take. Not too much has changed on my property, because my home is comparatively new, but there's a dry creek bed, and we have a great time pondering what used to be where in our neighborhood...
I worked in title and escrow before becoming a mom and it was so interesting to see old deeds from property!
Your yard is amazing... love the tree lined street.
Happy Wednesday!
We bought this house from the people who built it, but my Mom's house where I grew up had a long and interesting history.
Makes me wonder what happened that it is no longer a "street". Do you ever find artifacts when you have to replace a tree?
Trees are amazing and certainly can get one to thinking. I frequently go out to admire our fruit trees and recall when they were little baby twigs and all that has happened between then and now.
Mango Momma
Post a Comment