Intersecting stories…
I like to think this site has two stories to tell. The first is of the house and its surroundings. The second is of the family that currently fills it. Until just recently, each story was independent of the other.
The House
Information on the house comes in bits and pieces from various locations – the abstract, the former owner, neighbors, and what the house adds to the story each time we look under a floor board or behind a wall. What we’ve pieced together so far is that the land surrounding the house was originally deeded by the federal government to two land speculators in the 1800’s. Later, it was sold to a family who started a small farm and built the first section of the house. The farm was again sold in the early 1900’s and main construction on the house was finished in 1917. Land was sold off of the farm over the years, but the homestead remained in the family until we purchased the house and surrounding land in 2011. Most of the main farm structures have come and gone in that time – a barn, hog building, chicken coup and other small buildings are present on aerial photos taken during the 1900’s – all that remains now is the house, the smokehouse, the pump house, and a machine shed.
Us
We’re a family of 6 – and there’s never a dull moment! I was raised on a farm – my wife in a very small town – and it didn’t take us long to realize that we wanted to raise our children in a similar “hands-on” setting. My wife and I both work full time and manage to keep up with three girls and a boy – in that regard we’re a fairly typical family… soccer, dance, softball, 4-H, homework, and off to bed so we can do it all again tomorrow.
“A house is made of walls and beams;
a home is built with love and dreams.”
— Unknown
