Delve to the bottom of every dusty deed record drawer, ply your neighbors for juicy details, and sleuth your way to learning more about your old house in this episode of The Vernacular Life Podcast!
About the Episode:
So you bought an old house. A REALLY old house. But you’re not totally sure how old it actually is.

I’ve been there! When we bought our house, we were told it was built in 1912. But my heart said, uh-uh, this is a Folk Victorian and I think it was built in 1905 or ‘06. How do I know? In this episode, I’ll tell you!
You’ll learn:
- How NOT to barter canned goods for old house information
- Why your local records office is a possible treasure trove of information (and dusty cards)
- What I’ve learned about my house’s builder and his family
And so much more!
Resources Mentioned:
A Field Guide to American Houses (Revised): The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture by Virginia Savage McAlester
Follow me on Instagram @FarmhouseVernacular!
Click here to read the transcript for this episode.For more on how to date your old house, read my blog post here!