NW 10th Av - Part 2 - Out Buildings

To me out buildings hold a fascination all of their own...So many different functions depending on shape, size, location and of course time of year...

I love the charm of this barn door, the small window in the loft area for ventilation..

I can imaging that they kept their wagon or farming equipment to the left of the main building...As you can see part of the fence is still standing also...

The gate post of the barn yard

The chicken house not far from the kitchen door...

You can see the old gate still standing though most of the wire fence is now gone.

This outbuilding actually stood across the road so I am not sure if it was part of the same property originally or is completely separate...The pile of junk you see in the doorway is where someone dumped some old mattresses...Quite unsightly as it is just a few feet from the edge of the road.

Just a few other things I found of interest...

One last look at the barn...To the right you can see the tack room...

I did manage to find out the name of the family that used to live on this property, as well as the name of a grand daughter who is still living. If I am able to trace her, I hope to find out more information such as year built, last year lived in etc. I will post updates as I do.

Kelsie

Linking this post to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

NW 10th Av - Part 1

Here we have the perfect example of a forgotten home...This house has been hidden from view for the last few yrs...That was until the county (I guess it was them) cleared the right-away of all the over growing shrubbery that was starting to encroach onto this narrow country road...Followed by fall and nature took care of the rest of the unveiling...

I did try and locate a property owner to talk to about the history of the house but alas so far all I have found is it titled to a LLC and a PO Box...But I do know an old timer that might be able to help me out in tracking a descendant from this homesite...

I have a feeling I am going to be coming across this situation quite a bit in my quest to document the histories of these lost homes...But enough of all this boring chit chat, on to the photos.

If you squint your eyes you can almost imagine just how stunning this little white cracker house was...Hear the children yelling in the back yard, the cluck of chickens and the family dog yappy at their heals...The smell of fresh baked bread drifting on the air as mum is getting ready for the men folk to come in for the midday meal.

The east facing front porch the perfect place to relax on a summer evening and escape the Florida heat.

Evidence of the front garden path still leading from the gate to the front steps and up onto the front porch of what was once a white painted house...You get a good look too at the "dog run" down the center of the home...2 bedrooms on the left..Living room with fireplace on the right along with a what could of originally been 2 smaller bedrooms.

Sadly there was also evidence that others besides me have been here recently, with a scattering of beer bottles in the ferns...We found the same thing on our property when we moved, as it had been vacant for a number of years prior to our arrival.

We can see where the home was upgraded over the years, electric was added and what once was a larger window for a possibly small bedroom, has been filled in to just a small square for a bathroom window and indoor plumbing was also added.

I love this living room window and the small awnings are just perfect to allow you to open the window in summer for a nice breeze but keep those summer rains out of the house...
My favorite part of Florida life has to be the HOT rainy days
(please read this last comment with sarcasm lol)

Finally we reach the back of the house and the extension that was very obviously added by a person of noticeably less skill than the builder of the original part of the house....This extension is the kitchen...This really was a smart home back in it's day...It also boasted a couple of impressive out buildings that I will share with you soon.

I hope enjoyed visiting this lost home with me today and will come back again soon to finish the tour.

Blessings Kelsie

Remembering those that came before us....

Since moving to Levy County Florida 6yrs ago I have been fascinated with the old houses that have been abandoned and left to rot and fall down...

These old houses and out buildings represent what were once HOMES full of love and promise....Sheltering the families that worked hard together to make a new life for themselves in the wilderness of North Central Florida...

Now the old families have moved on and the old homes have for one reason or another been left to ruins...I wanted to capture them and the stories they have to tell, before they are all gone...

I hope you will join me on this journey to preserve the memories of by gone days here in Levy County...

Kelsie

The image above is of the old barn on our property...It is the last remaining original building from my husbands kin folk, who arrived in the 1890's in wagons from Alabama to homestead this area...Alas we have no choice by to pull it down as it was already beyond repair when we arrived...