Homes With Stories

Some homes stay with me, not because of their size or architectural importance, but because of the lives once lived within their walls. I am fascinated by the way a room, a staircase, or an ordinary household object can reveal how people worked, gathered, celebrated, struggled, and cared for one another in another time.

From a young age, I visited historic houses and learned how to move carefully through them. How to look without touching and to listen as guides explained how people once lived. Those early visits taught me that a house could tell a story through its furnishings, architecture, worn floors, family possessions, and even the changes made by later generations. They created a lifelong love of visiting historic homes.

When I homeschooled my children, these houses became part of their education as well. We traveled great distances to visit the homes of people we had studied, walking through the rooms where they had lived and seeing the surroundings that helped shape their lives. History became more tangible when we could stand in the places where decisions were made, books were written, families were raised, and everyday life unfolded.

I often think about the millions of people who have lived before us and the relatively small number of homes that have been preserved. Why were these particular houses saved, and whose stories do they tell? What can they teach us about the owners, families, workers, servants, and communities connected to them? Here, I share some of the homes I have visited and the stories that remain within their walls.