History Detective

One of the things I like about living in on an old farm, especially a family farm, is the sense of mystery with all that has happened before me and the excitement of occasionally finding or figuring out a small nugget of history. One such ‘nugget’ is hidden in a grove of Cottonwood trees on the east side of the farm. A few years ago I was exploring this area when I noticed a bunch of old pieces of concrete and rusted metal cable. It appeared to be the remnants of an old road or bridge, but seemed like a very odd location for someone to dump the rubble from an old bridge.

I did some investigating and located some old county maps, dating 1860, 1895, and 1905. As it turns out, the roads have changed a lot in the last 100 years. Including a road that once cut through what is now my side yard and crossed Center Creek right about where I found the old pile of rubble! I always assumed that the house was built way off the road just to be neat, but as it turns out, it was built on a road that was eventually abandoned, leaving the house stranded unusually far off into a field and with the super long driveway I now enjoy.

Here is the map from 1905. In 1905, JGL Carter, the original owner of my house and namesake of nearby Carterville, was probably in deteriorating health, and it appears he had already deeded or sold some land to two of his sons, Marion and JW (James Walter). At this point the family estate was a patchwork of approximately 750 acres. When dad and I bought it in 2006, it was down to 182 acres. Still a sizable parcel among today’s subdivided countryside, but a long shot from what it once was.

Another interesting fact I learned from my grandmother is that JGL purchased the original section in 1849 from the US Government. I’m sure many people don’t find a pile of concrete and some old maps very interesting but I think it’s super cool!