If this old house could talk, what stories would it tell?

I am an old house lover. The mystery and intrigue of old houses and things never ceases to cast a spell on me. When I’m in an old house I wonder, “Who built this house? Who has lived here and what were they like? How many babies have been born within these walls?” I could go on and on..

The other day my husband reminded me that we needed to measure the children on the coat closet door. I said I had just been looking at the measurements on the door and thought the same thing. While I was looking at the measurements of past residents, I started in my reverie again of these people that used to live here. What happened to Jimmy, Martin, Chad, Taylor, Jim, Morgan, Sean, Sherri, Chris, Sullivan, Mary, Marshall and Steven? These faded names on the door are the only clues I have as to who once lived here. Marshall was 2 in 1999, so he’s the same age as my oldest daughter. Hmm. That leads to some speculation right there, to which my oldest daughter would definitely roll her eyes.

Our house is right around 135 years old. I talk about it a lot with the children, how when this house was built there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no cars! What would it have been like to hear hooves clip-clopping down the brick street? So many memories have been encoded within these old walls, hopefully many, many more happy ones than sad ones and, hopefully, many more happy ones to come. I hope to one day meet some of the people that have once lived here and hear their stories. And this is partly why I write, to preserve my story and my voice for the future.

Krista Bocko lives in “Old Town’ Noblesville with her husband and four children and is passionate about old houses and preservation of stories and the past.