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Share your old houses' hidden treasures and artifacts
Let's hear what types of trinkets, treasures, artifacts and oddities people have found in their old houses. Whether it be in the floors, walls, ceilings, cellars or underground. Post pictures if you have them!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on -
Found lots of stuff.
Original hand blocked wallpaper from 1807
Kids shoe in the attic
Phone box from the 1920's
Parker brothers board games from 1890's
Original box for knob and tube wiring
Roll of wheat pennies from 1950's
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Permalink Reply by Jim Finley on -
what type of board games did they have back then?
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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on
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The adventures of Pollyana and Parcheesi were the two I found.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on -
We found a pint bottle of Seagrams 7 in a wall, which we think is from 1976.
In the basement there was one square, 12"x12" open to the ground beneath. Not sure what it was used for. Maybe a drain. Anyway, it had many leather buckles of a sort. Pretty rusty. Not sure why they would even be there except maybe during sweeping they were swept into the opening.
Our electrician found a depoist book from the 1970's. Interestingly, the owner must have benn a renter as the name was not familiar to any of the locals. In the book the owner routinely made deposits of $2 or less and withdraw similar low amounts. Vey odd.
The last item, we were hoping to save, but alas we cannot, was some old wallpaper found behind some plaster. This was in our stairway and we think what we see : http://www.myoldhouseonline.com/forum/topics/old-wallpapering-found
may have been the original as its on the original plaster and under later applied wallpapering and a coat of finished plaster.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Finley on
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the buckles in a hole in the basement is really strange.... that really sets your mind to wondering... ahh maybe I watch too many horror movies!
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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on
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Jim,
Talking horror, a lot of the folks who grew up around our house, kids then, adults now, always thought it was haunted. However, my sensitive wife gets nothing but good vibes from the house, even at night. So we believe the buckles were from a hobby...and we are sticking to that story....
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Felix Burns on -
I know what you mean about the "good vibes"... I've been in supposed haunted houses before and felt peaceful in them... not saying they can't really be haunted or have residual energy, just that I seem to feel the good vibes of the house, rather than the nasty.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on
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Good Vibes=Good Spirits
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Permalink Reply by Jim Finley on
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One of the first things many people ask us about our house is whether we've had any "activity". I have 3 teenage sons and 2 hyper terriers - they make so much noise that we wouldn't hear any activity even if there was any! I tried very hard to scare my boys - like writing their names upside down in the dust on the hallway mirror but they are unflappable. They do get annoyed by the squirrels in the attic though!
Incidentally, we found a tombstone shaped stone in the cellar - not sure if it was really a tombstone or just a stone from the chimney wall. There's no inscription on it.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Finley on
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in my previous house (late 18th cent) I rooted around in the eaves in the attic (which still contained the old zinc built in gutters) and found a couple very nice apothecary bottles, 2 wooden shoe lasts, a pair of ancient ice skates (probably late 19th cent) and a couple of curious wooden oval shaped things with holes drilled through them - kind of like floats for a fishing rope. When digging outside for a patio I found many clay pipe pieces, clay marbles, a couple nice buttons, keys and misc stove parts.
In my current house (1740's) I've found clay marbles, bottles, a salt spoon, a 1925 Cuban nickel, a inscribed gold pocket watch, and a 1787 Connecticut copper coin buried in the cellar. Also found remnants of a bear skull in the cellar. There's tons more stuff in the crawl spaces and cellar I'm sure. I'll try to get some pictures to post.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on
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Wow! Just a cool treasure trove.
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Permalink Reply by Mal & Greg on -
Out East we found two concealment shoes from around 1795. They were wedged into the space between beam and chimney. Found many clay pipe pieces and a pipe bowl, here near Ottawa. Bottles, including an early pontiled medicinal. A watch case, a spanish silver coin, early canadian trade tokens, a brass bell....a grave stone. MANY butchered animal bones. And in our work as sign makers, we recently unearthed a handful of bone fragments from a church yard while setting posts. They make me nervous....
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