1846 Homestead Renovation

28 Houses and Counting…

My Grandmother Used Pencil

My husband served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years. We moved around a lot and by the time we celebrated 32 years of marriage, we had lived in 28 houses in two foreign countries and seven states. My grandmother kept our addresses in her address book and while everyone else’s were in ink, ours were all done in pencil. 

We didn’t intend for it to be that way.  Part of it was the Navy life.  Part of it was our adventurous spirits.  However, as I got older, I missed my family’s dirt (as Jerry calls it).  It was time to go home.  It was time to talk about a forever house. Call us crazy…everyone else already has, but our 1846 Texas homestead renovation was the route we decided to go in order to create our dream home.

 

Dream Home or Nightmare?

When we decided to turn a dilapidated dog-trot home into our dream home, most folks thought we were out of our minds. They were right. It was falling down. The last cousin who lived there was a hoarder and a recluse who hadn’t taken care of the house in several decades. Sheetrock was falling from the ceilings and everything that the rats hadn’t chewed up was rotten. However, the house was the oldest structure in Hill County, Texas and had been in my family since 1852. It was worth it, we said. We are saving history, we said.

And then the rattlesnakes appeared along with the rats. Add in all the rotten wood and countless other issues that come with a 170+ year-old house and you get an idea of what our lives are like. From climbing on the roof to crawling under the house, we have done things we never dreamed we would have to do. Call us crazy…everyone else already has, but our 1846 Texas homestead renovation is a labor of love that is already paying off!

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