Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood

by Betsy J. Green

Book Overview

Every home has a story to tell Whether you own an elaborate Victorian, cozy bungalow or cottage, ranch style, or are part of a newer subdivision, your house and property have a unique history that is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891661248
• ISBN13: 9781891661242
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Detective Manual for Domestic Mysteries

Everyone can find interest in researching the history of past inhabitants of their house. This book gives step-by-step instructions to identify the names of past inhabitants, how to locate them or their relatives, and learn facts about their lives as well as obtain old photos showing your house in previous incarnations. One can learn about hidden mysteries ranging from hidden rooms to why in the world did they choose THAT interior decoration, etc. For inspiration I recommend reading "If These Walls Had Ears," written by James Morgan. It is what you might write when you complete research like this.

Very useful

Many people are familiar with the idea of tracing your family roots, and learning what history surrounds you. But, this book tells you how you can trace the history of the house you live in! Providing a great deal of suggestions and courses of action, this book tells you how you can find out all sorts of wonderful information on your house. If you are interested in the history of small things, then I highly recommend that your get this very useful book!

A fun, simple, and "user friendly" step-by-step guide

Discovering The History Of Your House And Your Neighborhood by noted house historian Betsy J. Green is a fun, simple, and "user friendly" step-by-step guide to researching the history of a private home. From surfing the Internet, to following a paper trail, Discovering The History Of Your House is a welcome and highly recommended primer to finding out everything you want or need to know about the architectural history of your own home, but didn't know who or how to ask.

User-friendly guide

If you've wondered how old your home is, what it used to look like, if those stories you heard are true, this is the book for you. Start with any chapter that piques your interest -- you're sure to find useful tips and things you never thought of, like using a metal detector in your yard. I found many good strategies and I've been researching homes since 1995. Green explains sources of information and how to access them, nationwide. Her glossary explains in simple language the legal terms you're likely to encounter. An excellent general introduction to the topic.