Friday, June 17, 2011

If it's abandoned, it's gonna burn

There are lots and lots of abandoned farmhouses and outbuilding around here. The ones that don't blow over of their own accord are going to burn. This seems to be a terrible fact of life that has played itself out time and time again around here.

Sometimes the local fire department burns them down for practice, as in this case.



In most other cases they seem to spontaneously combust. I'm being fascetious because without gas or electric or the presence of a hellacious thunderstorm.....you get my drift.

This house was abandoned many years ago when the owner died and the entire property went into some kind of prolonged estate situation. It was once a really beautiful home with lots of unusual stonework. It was very large, my guess is 6,000 square feet and placed on a gorgeous piece of property.

After years it became what I called the House of Perpetual Christmas.

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For years and years the wreath hung on the door. Nobody home. For awhile a caretaker lived in a separate carriage house on the property but after awhile even the caretaker left. The estate situation was drawn out and the place literally crumbled before our eyes.

At some point the police started making weekly visit to the house. This is a photo I took of a "situation" in which about six squad cars showed up. They approached the house, guns drawn.

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This is not the kind of thing you want going on in your neighborhood. We were relieved to discover that someone had purchased the property for back taxes. Phew.....wait a minute, not so fast. That means nothing because it takes 5 YEARS until the person can actually finalize the deal. It's been several years since that development.

Just last week while driving by I thought to myself, "I'm totally amazed this place hasn't burnt to the ground." That's because at least three others have gone up in the meantime.

And then, the other morning neighbor Betty gives me a call and says, "The house burned down."

Isn't it amazing that she didn't even have to elaborate. I knew EXACTLY which house she was talking about. The Perpetual Christmas House. The eyesore house. The house with the gigantic-dead-tree-in-the-front-yard-waiting-to-fall-across-your-car-and-strike-you-dead house. Yeah, that one!

Here's what's left of the house. Not much. Approaching the house with the largest of the two fireplaces still standing.

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The area where the family room was located.

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Years ago when the house was inhabited I would drive home late at night from my job and there would always be lights and a television on in this area.

Destruction and waste.

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Really, what happened to this once beautiful home is a terrible story and a terrible end.

But around here, if it's abandoned, it's gonna burn.



6 comments:

Vee said...

It looks as if it once was a beautiful home. Those fireplaces! I suppose that's the next thing to topple. Same story here. If it's abandoned, it will eventually burn whether it's a family home or a paper mill.

Lisa D. said...

So very sad, for the house and for the family behind the house. I've seen far too many families that would rather see a house come to this kind of end than resolve their differences and let go of their bitterness and selfishness.
There are farmyards around here where usually one of the children takes over the farming and build a new house, and the old one stays standing in the yard until it falls into dangerous disrepair. Old granaries and sheds stand in fields until they fall down too. It always reminds me of what a "disposable" society we live in.

Harriet said...

I'm always sad when I go by a house that has been abandoned. It's as if the house is weeping for it's people. And, sadly, too many houses are no longer homes ending in the trial of decay.

Paula Jo @ Home Decor Accents said...

That is a sad story. What sad and happy memories laid in this house. I'm sure it was once a beautiful house, and then it's tied up in courts and it can't be lived in. Now this is sad.

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Erica said...

This is so sad. Looks like it was once a beautiful house.

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