How to Find Out the History of Your House
If only walls could talk. For those curious to find out the history of their house, we don’t blame you. Whether it’s a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse, a Victorian beauty or a contemporary new build, every house has a history (though, some are more interesting than others). Not only can finding a house’s history make you better appreciate its quirks and charm, but it can also be helpful for preservation purposes. Fortunately, with the help of the internet, there are many ways to investigate the history of a house. Here are 12 ways to find out the history of your home.
- Search the registry of deedsStart by researching your home’s deed. Go online to your local registrar’s website or visit the office in person to search for your property’s deed. Once you have the previous owner’s name, look up the deed for the property when he or she owned it. The deed will list the name of the person they purchased the home from. Keep going back as far as you can. The registrar’s records may not go back to the original owner. If that’s the case, ask the staff where you might find records that predate what their records.
- Check the National Registry of Historic PlacesIs your house old? If you’re not sure whether the home is considered to be officially historic, try checking with the National Register of Historic Places. The service, managed by the National Park Service, contains the official list of homes that are registered and designated as “historic” due to their age, architectural style and/or overall significance.To search online, visit the National Register of Historic Places website and search for your home using the searchable online table, a downloadable spreadsheet or the interactive map. (Although the website claims the table is the best way to search for information, I found the map to be the easiest.) If you have a reference number, you can search it using the spreadsheet. You can also search the spreadsheet by state.
- Ask your RealtorBefore moving to your new home, ask your Realtor about the history of your house. They should be able to tell you whether or not the home is in a designated historic neighborhood. A good Realtor should also be able to assist you with finding the names of the previous owners. If your home is located in a historic district, be aware that it could come with rules and regulations. These rules, which usually pertain to a home’s exterior appearance, help maintain the neighborhood’s overall look and appeal. However, many homeowners find the rules to be restrictive. Be sure you’re willing to take on all that comes with owning a historic home before purchasing the property. You can also use Realtor.com’s Property & Real Estate Record Search.
- Contact previous ownersIf you have the opportunity to meet the sellers, ask them what they know about the house. Chances are they will likely be more than willing to share the home’s history. In fact, they may even consider it a selling point. If that’s not an option, reach out to them after you move in. As you learn the identities of previous owners and find contact information for them, try to connect with them. They can share what they know about the house’s history as well as memories of living there. If you’re lucky, you may even have a previous occupant knock on your door wanting to revisit their former home. Take advantage of the opportunity, and ask them questions. They may be able to provide more information than you’d expect.
- Look up old census recordsCurious who lived in the home long before you? Start by researching old census records. You should be able to discover the names of family members who lived in the home, as well as their ages, birth states, the year of immigration, marriage status, occupations, personal belongings and other interesting information. According to the National Archives, not all of this information is available for every census. For instance, from 1790 to 1840, only the “head of household” is listed in census records.
- Subscribe to a genealogy websiteWebsites like Ancestry.com can be invaluable when researching your home’s past. By searching the names of previous owners and people associated with the house, you can gain insights you might not find out otherwise. For example, you might learn that one of the previous owners was a cavalry officer during the Civil War. These websites also may contain census information and old newspaper articles. Sometimes, you can find genealogy information for previous owners that links them to other families in the community or even historical figures.
- Visit a local library, historical society or preservation foundationYour local library can contain a wealth of information, including historic books, maps, old newspapers, local census records, drawings and photographs. The latter two can help you identify when additions were added or changes made to your home. Photographs may also help confirm historic events, like a battle, occurred onsite or notable figures, such as a president, visited. Note that if your city or town was part of another at one point, you may want to check that community’s library, too.When researching the history of a house or neighborhood, I strongly recommend contacting your local library to set up an appointment to look at the photographs, maps, newspaper articles and historic designation reports in their archives. Other places to look include a local historical society or preservation center. These organizations will save and archive photographs and important documents, as well as host exhibits and events relating to the town. Preservation foundations also work to preserve, protect and beautify historic buildings and neighborhoods.
- Head to a nearby battlefieldIf your home is located near where a Revolutionary War or Civil War battle was fought, you may want to visit to learn if your home could possibly have played a role as a base, staging ground or field hospital. View the exhibits to find out general information about the battle, its boundaries, and whether prominent locals were involved. Then, ask staff to help you identify whether your home could have been involved in some way.
- Research Sanborn Fire Insurance MapsFor nearly 100 years, the Sanborn Map Company published maps that helped fire insurance companies assess the risk of insuring a particular property. These maps include an outline of buildings that existed at the time, their size, shape, construction materials (red buildings were made of brick while yellow ones were made of wood), function (dwelling, doctor’s office, etc.), and location of windows and doors. An elaborate abbreviation system provided information ranging from whether a property had a basement and roof to whether it was located next to a Catholic church.You can access these maps through the Library of Congress. Just select the state where your house is located and hit “search.” On the next page, select your city and browse the available maps for more information.
- Explore the home and yard for cluesFrom the attic to the backyard, there may be a number of existing clues about the history of a home. Look for clues in the style of architecture, wallpaper from other eras, décor elements, additions to the home, and the type of flooring. While an exterior plaque is obvious, you can uncover more subtle clues if you know what to look for. Hand-hewn wood beams indicate a portion of the house may be older than a section constructed from wood bearing the marks of a circular saw. Additionally, previous owners may have left behind helpful personal items, such as photos, mementos, and newspaper articles in the attic, in the basement, or buried in the yard.Renovations can reveal even more clues. For example, previous owners may have left their name and date on wood beams hidden behind walls. Or, you could discover company logos or names on building materials that could help date them and shed light on when certain parts of your home were constructed.
- Conduct a title searchWant to find out who lived in your home? Try conducting a title search. If you’re purchasing a new home, you’ll most likely do one of these anyway, as many buyers opt to pay for a professional title search. These title searches sift through tax records to show potential homebuyers the names of those who have legally owned the property from the beginning to the present day. This way, buyers know with absolute certainty that the person selling them the home is actually the owner. You can also perform a title search yourself using one of the many websites available to the public.
- Read books on the areaChances are good that there are books written about the history of your city or neighborhood. I recommend starting with The History Press, which publishes local history books throughout the U.S. Local bookstores and airport bookshops are also bound to sell plenty of books and literature written on the specific city or area of the country. Of course, if you can’t find anything in local bookstores, you can always search Amazon for guides and history books written about your city.
Tips to make researching easier
Knowing where to look for information about your home is just the beginning. As you research, you can take steps to make the process more successful and maybe even uncover a few secrets.
Make a binder.
The best way to keep track of your research is by keeping it all together in a binder. Gather all your notes and copies of documents pertaining to your home, and arrange them in chronological order. Slip each piece of information into a sleeve protector in the binder. If you want to display information about your home, consider creating two binders, a working binder containing all your research and one with the pictures, maps and newspaper articles visitors will find interesting.
Note all names.
During your research, you may encounter various spellings of the same name. James Rogers may also show up as J. Rogers, Jas. Rogers, or even James Rodgers. Of course, James Rodgers could be an entirely different person, but you might not know that until you dig deeper. Write down all names, the date associated with that name, and the source it came from (deed, newspaper article, census records, etc.).
Don’t overlook small details.
Almost any element of your home could be a clue. Hand-hewn floorboards could indicate a particular part of the house is original or, at least, very old. The installation of a particular window style or type of glass could date a renovation. Even an old door knocker could give you a clue about a previous owner’s occupation. The more you read about architecture in the period your house was built the better able you may be to spot these revealing details.
Pay attention to street names.
Over time, street names can change. Your house may be on Dixon Drive now, but at one time, the street may have been known as West Street. While this can be easy to spot on a map, you may miss crucial information in newspapers and documents because you’re looking for a home on Dixon Drive, not West Street.
Don’t believe everything.
Just because a map indicates your house had two chimneys in 1890 doesn’t mean it actually did. Maps, newspapers and documents get it wrong sometimes. Regardless of what you learn, confirm it with at least one other source, if possible. A photograph of the two chimneys would be ideal. You may also be able to tell by looking for structural evidence of a second chimney. Or, a previous owner may remember living in the house when there were two chimneys or even renovating the home to remove the chimney.
Measure your rooms.
Does a room seem smaller than it should be? Or, does a wall seem particularly thick? Sometimes during renovations, rooms or portions of them get closed off. In between the walls, you could find old furniture, photographs, keepsakes, or nothing at all. Don’t take a sledgehammer to your walls based on your suspicions, though! Contact a general contractor about using specialized equipment like a SeeSnake Micro Inspection Camera or Walabot to see inside your walls with minimal damage.
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