UNADULTERATED OLD HOUSE IN SMALL TOWN

OLD ONE CAR GARAGE WITH NO TRESPASSING SIGN

A house in a very small town caught my  eye as I was driving down its main street. I instantly knew I wanted to find out more  about this place. I swung around and stopped in front of the house and noticed a sign attached to the  garage.  Sign said: NO TRESPASSING. Whoa, this stopped me dead in my tracks of going up to the door to introduce myself . I happened over to a nearby house and they told me the house was vacant --  and its owner was a lady in her eighties that was now living in a nursing home. 

FRONT OF THE HOUSE PORCH

With these few facts in hand I decided that I could take photos of the house from the street while searching  for clues about the the owner.

Initially, what attracted me to stop was the vernacular form of the house. But now I saw something else. -- it was the sitting porch standing as it probably stood when the elderly woman lived there. 

So, now I was looking at both the early architecture of the place and the front sitting porch. 


Based on the architecture, I put a date on the house as that of the early 1800s, It had not been restored, only preserved. It was an authentic example of a vernacular Federal/Greek Revival house.

So many questions swirled in my head:

--How long had she lived in the house?

--Was this a family home that had passed through several generations?

--Did she know who built the house or the garage or any of the outbuildings on the property?.

--Was it a large house because large families had lived in it?

Many other questions passed through my mind -- too many to write down here. 

OLD PORCH CHAIRS

Architecture aside, I turned to the sitting porch to seach for clues about the owner. It contained a little bit of interpretive material. 


The woman of eighty plus apparently liked plants as she had several planters sitting on the edge of the porch with remnants of former plants.

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She had some old metal chairs that appeared to be there for socializing.

OLD PORCH PLANT STANDS

Some old vintage plant stands stood empty on part of the porch. A chicken figure, that perhaps was a planter, sat on top of one of the stands. 

Together the architecture along with the materials on her porch seemed to tell me that over the years she made do with what she had. The house along with the porch artifacts  remained "as is" over the years.  "As is" meaning no changes. 

As an example of the remaining  "as is"  of the house architecture was the original weather-board siding, a few old outbuildings, old tin roof, original six over six  window panes (also called lights), column pilasters on the porch, and a fan light over the front door. 

My conclusion about the elderly lady was that she liked to socialize, loved plants, and liked things to remain as they were.

SIDE YARD WITH OUTBUILDINGS ON TOWN LOT

The over-all ambiance of the property gives one the ability to glance at a "real" historic setting -- not one that has been adulterated with the clean and sterile look of many museums.  The overall place is in context to its landscape -- a small town in Kentucky.

Its like an archaeological dig -- trying to interpret fragments into a viable story. Humans invariably leave debris when they have lived somewhere for any length of time.  The interpretation may not be entirely accurate but is usually fairly close to reality.

COUNTRY STOOL REVEALS ITS LEGS

STOOL WORK SITE

The above photo might look a bit chaotic. It is because I am undressing a stool from a couple layers of upholstery  -- the upholstery dates from when these materials were added. A secret  was revealed when I found the third and last underlying layer.

I was at my favorite second hand shop cruising the aisles when I spotted this foot stool with an upholstered top. The upholstering was newish and rather awkwardly tacked to the top of the footstool. -- ugly, I thought. 

But wait, those legs! I picked up the stool and turned it over to get a look at the legs. The legs were cherry,  simply cut into a curve similar to forms of the late Empire/early Victorian country style. Could it be, I thought, that this actually is a country stool perhaps  150 years old?. I looked at the price -- $5.00! I always seem to find bargains when I really concentrate -- by looking through their age disguises. Here, in this piece, were legs that told me what it really was or so I thought. For $5.00 it would be worth taking home and undressing it to see if my hunch was correct.

SLINGING THE SECOND LAYER OFF 

The top layer of the stool was a blue check material (see top photo),  perhaps from the last few decades. It was aluminium stapled and brass tacked onto the stool. The second layer was a brown and beige diamond print that I estimate to be from the 1920s era. And the last layer was what you see in the photo above -- an old, early black velvet with needlework applied to the top. This handwork was very similar to that done by women in the mid to late 1800s. This was the secret of the stool. I never expected to find the original upholstered top!

MID to LATE-1800S SAW MARKS AND NEW REPAIR TO LEG

As I had determined that this was of country origin, I figured that the style along with the handwork put the age of the stool somewhere in the 1870s range. Underneath the stool's top were  old circular saw marks that were known to be used during the time-frame. A very new repair had been made to one of the legs apparently to stabilize it. The third velvet layer or last layer was affixed with handmade nails.

.Now one might say what do you want with a stool that has an old worn cover. Well, if one looks at an old piece long enough stories begin to emerge of how and when it was used. 

My story is that a young wife ordered the stool from a country carpenter while she made the simple velvet needlework top. A gift no doubt -- for her beloved husband. Now this is just a story that danced through my head but stories can be fun. 

STOOL AT CRONE STAGE

Here is the old early stool presented as it originally appeared so long ago. Of, course much worn by use and time. But still beautiful.

WHO WORE OUT A SPOT ON MY VELVET TOP?

And in the photo above is a large wear mark on one side of the stool. The husband undoubtedly used this stool for years because it had sentimental value for him. He was a very organized man as he always used the same side of the stool as the other side was not worn. 

The dainty red flowers , made with tiny crochet stitches, were worn flat. Small pieces of sewn ribbons formed the stems. She worked hard to make this lovely piece for her mother. Did I say mother -- oh, yes, maybe she made it for her mother? Its also a story that would fit the piece -- in fact, hundreds of stories can be called up. That is why I like pieces that are old and worn, it lets my imagination run wild.

APPALACHIAN "MAKE DO" DOLLS

1940s CLOTH DOLL 

In Appalachia, as well as other parts of the country, cloth dolls have been part of the culture as long as there has been fabric around to make them. Cloth dolls were both hand-stitched or machine-stitched or both types of stitching were found in one doll. The cloth dolls in this post average about 15 inches in height. 

I found these dolls in the Appalachian area. They probably are indigenous to the area however they could also be migrants from other parts of the country. No documented history came with these dolls. 

The above doll is more than likely from the 1940's. She has both hand stitching and machine stitching on her body as well as her clothes. The fabric appears to be 1940s plaid. The buttons also speak out 1940s. She is in excellent condition given her age.

CLOTH DOLL CLOSE-UP OF HAND-STITCHED FACE

A close-up of the cloth doll shows her hand stitched face. Hair is sewn on yarn. 

HAND-STITCHED CLOTH DOLL'S SHOES

Her cloth shoes made with the same material as the dress are capped by swirling buttons. The maker of the shoes even used a white material to indicate soles. 

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

I would consider the doll in the charming rose floral dress above to be a "rag doll." Some use the term cloth and rag interchangeably. To me a rag doll looks rather primitive in its structure I would consider them a piece of folk art. . I sometimes wonder if these loosely made dolls were made by children.

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

This guy in the blue polka dot pajamas has a happy smile on his face -- another doll that I would classify as folk art. Both the rose dress lady doll and the blue pajama guy have early printed fabric as clothes. They could or could not be original to the doll. 

Folk art can be found in many types of material including fabric. The cloth and rag dolls are part of our "make do" culture. Our doll history can be traced back to when this country began. 

Take a look around -- attics, yard sales, and second hand stores. You might just find one of these pieces of our folk culture.