The House: Exterior and plans

So yeah. A little bit imposing. I think that's an original rock wall.

From the edge of the property line...

Despite a chilly closing with the sellers, we were pleased to find a sheet of 2 pieces of mat board taped together, with writing on the outside that read, "Old Blueprints. Be very careful (Kind of falling apart)." They were right. But this is so cool. The blueprints are dated 1912, and bear the name of the WWI vet son who lived here. Talking to the listing agent, he said he was pretty sure that these plans were drawn up when the family had a boiler system installed...

...and these sketches showing all the fittings bear out that assumption. 

He also said that it was his understanding that there had been a basement at one time, with stairs that led down from the butlers pantry and below the main stairs. We found, in the closet under the main stairs, a boarded up opening that appears to have been those very stairs. And one of the blueprint sheets suggests it, as well. I'll address the mystery basement in a later post.

In the meantime, I'll begin with the 1912 sketch of the 1st floor, talk about the changes made and what it looks like now in my next post.