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Keeping in Touch:  Taking the backroads...  |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 12:59:28 PM
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I'm a backroads kinda gal. I love the way the dust billows up behind my truck as I crunch along the gravel. I love the scenery. Whether it be a tree lined back road, with trees so thick you feel like you're in the middle of a magical forest, or a one lane cow path, heavy with tan dust. The flat farmland dotted with black and white holsteins.
Yesterday was a backroads kind of day. I was on my way home from visiting family and I turned left. It was a no name county road in the opposite direction of home. It went on for awhile and then i turned right. Thats when I first saw it.
I knew it was huge as I was cresting a hill when I noticed the top of it. Then on the downhill the entire place came into view. I can't explain what came over me next. Never in my life had I ever, EVER seen anything like it. It was straight out of a story book, but not necessarily a good book... maybe a book with a sinister twist. It was a brick house, 4 stories tall with vines growing all over it. 8' high windows, most of them busted out. A huge wrought iron terrace in front with a widows walk. As I parked the truck the impact of the house really hit me hard. I felt like I was drawn to it. Like it was begging me to notice it. I got out of my car paying NO attention to the "no trespassing" signs. I took pictures and noticed a placard on the side of it. Built in 1875. This thing was like stepping back into the past. No signage out front and from the size of it I pegged it for an orphanage. I drove around to the back side and felt chills up and down my spine. Huge doors heavily boarded up. There was a carriage house in back as well. I just kept staring at the road wondering why I had chosen that route. What had led me to this architechural beauty? Once again, around the front I noticed bronzed pavers in front of the terrace. I could almost picture a string quartet with men in tails and tophats, and women in huge dresses. I was horribly in denial about the real truth.
After obsessing about it the entire drive home I hit the computer to see what i could find out. It started out as a poorhouse. A place at the turn of the century for the destitute. From what I learned it was also a "dumping grounds" for severly mentally handicap and insane people. It was a complete dishonor to be so poor, you had to live at the 'poorhouse'. The employees would simply bury people in the surrounding grounds as they died. this was the excavators unfortunate discover while doing some renovating on and around the grounds there. It is rumored that in the 1950's, the elevator crashed with 6 young women inside. Everyone that has ever been in, or owned it has vacated it. It was last used as a haunted house attraction during Halloween before being shut down by the county as "unsafe". I still feel a huge connection to the place regardless of its history and hope to write about it someday.
Ahh, those backroads..... once again leading me on another adventure in Ohio!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
Edited by - deeredawn on Apr 27 2009 2:32:29 PM |
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electricdunce
True Blue Farmgirl
2544 Posts
Karin
Belmont
ME
USA
2544 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 2:15:36 PM
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Wow! I too find the backroads beckoning to me, nothing is more fun than turning down the unnamed road...That sounds like quite a vision, and the story behind it is fascinating.
Karin
Farmgirl Sister #153
"Give me shelter from the storm" - Bob Dylan
http://moodranch.blogspot.com
http://domesticnonsense.etsy.com |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 6:21:53 PM
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I take the backroads, too. That is where you find real America. Great post!
In my teens, there was an abandoned hospital a few blocks from my home. We (several friend and I) explored during summer days. There were still records in the office, artificial limbs in the operating room, and an old piano in the day room. It looked very similar to the photos you posted. Big and brick - there was a beautiful chandelier in the dining room. Times gone by......I will never forget our excursions into that place. I even found very old degauratype( I know I mispelled that) photos in the rooms.
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
Psalm 51: 10-13 |
Edited by - jpbluesky on Apr 28 2009 5:02:55 PM |
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gspringman
True Blue Farmgirl
387 Posts
Gail
Bonanza
Oregon
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 7:03:23 PM
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Dawn, that was very interesting. It totally reminded me of a movie I saw or a book I read. Where all the poor people and then insane people went to live and in the basement was found skeletons which were mostly young children. Too scary for me to go into though. Thanks for posting, very cool read.
Gail
Farmgirl #486
Zone 5
http://grammasladybug.blogspot.com/
Circumstances made us Friends.....Maryjanes made us Sisters |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 7:18:13 PM
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Seriously.... isn't that the coolest house? I also found out it has over 90 rooms, 4 stories and a cafeteria style kitchen..... I want to go through it. In the daylight of course!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 8:20:39 PM
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What a find, what a story! It does seem like something out of novel. I do smell a story there for you Dawn.
For tomorrow and its needs I do not pray, but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord just for today.
St. Augustine
#440 |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 07:20:54 AM
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I am with you Dawn, I love back roads. I just finished a book by a local author called "don't cry over spilt milk" and it is her story of growing up in the 30's on the Palouse... She too talks about the "poor houses" and how much fear was involved with the threat of having to live there, or to be sent to one, and the stigmatism towards those that had to go there.
Thanks for sharing the story... Beautifully written.
Rene~Prosser Farmgirl #185
http://farmchicksfarm.blogspot.com/http://renenaturallyspeaking.blogspot.com/
Circumstances made us FRIENDS; MaryJane's has made us SISTERS :) |
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Contrary Wife
True Blue Farmgirl
2164 Posts
Teresa Sue
Tekoa
WA
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 09:26:56 AM
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Very interesting Dawn. I have to say it's not hard to imagine the misery that pours out of every crevice of that building.
Teresa Sue
Farmgirl Sister #316
Planting Zone 3
"Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly." The Dalai Lama |
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marcy jo
True Blue Farmgirl
453 Posts
Marcy
Wawaka
Indiana
USA
453 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 12:45:26 PM
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Dawn that is soooo cool. We have a place sorta like that here but they turned it into apartments. It has a slide on either side of the house for fireescapes!!!
Marcy #257
http://marcysmarket.blogspot.com |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2009 : 2:57:06 PM
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I thought that too...(the misery). But I was so taken with it. I walked the whole front side of it. I have to admit I was a little afraid to drive around the back. Heck no would I have walked! The doors were kicked down in back and you could see inside. Of course, if I'd have had someone with me I would've walked up and peeked inside... courage in numbers ya know! I'm totally going back. There's just SOMETHING about that place that....... calls to me. Info online is very scarce. I almost need to find someone born around 1920-ish to talk to me about it. Or a child of someone that was there. I will keep digging. I think I have a story to tell about it. Maybe take some blurbs from my own life and incorporate them into the early 1900's. (big sigh...) I can't explain it. I took pics of it from my own camera (see my harvest thyme blog) it definitely doesn't look as sinister.... in broad daylight that is!!!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
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K-Falls Farmgirl
Chapter Leader
2096 Posts
Cheryl
Klamath Falls
Oregon
USA
2096 Posts |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2009 : 11:14:44 AM
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Oh Dawn! I just went to your blog. My Giddy Aunt, What a building! I has something smaller in mind in reading your post. I had no idea! I too, would want to know more. Let me know when your book comes out! 
For tomorrow and its needs I do not pray, but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord just for today.
St. Augustine
#440 |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2009 : 7:53:37 PM
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I love back roads. I'd go that way any time. I also love dirt roads and I miss them. There are hardly any here. But in S. Ga. they have the best dirt roads ever. And lots of washboards, too. Very fun to drive on. And you can end up miles from where you started. So fun.
Georgia back roads are full of old abandoned wood frame houses. Just begging to tell about all the families that have lived in each one. They are beautiful places and so sad that they are left to just fall apart.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2009 : 11:05:32 AM
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Ooo, like the picture Rene', can I come too?
For tomorrow and its needs I do not pray, but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord just for today.
St. Augustine
#440 |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2009 : 11:11:03 AM
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Rene', the funny thing is, your trees gorw straight up. Trees around her kinda "canopy" the roads. Dark and shady. If I could post pics here I would. But I will get one and put it on the blog someday. I like it tho. I'd like to explore that one!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2009 : 11:38:06 AM
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My mother always had a saying she used when she thought I wanted something too expensive....she would say "Are you trying to put us in the poorhouse?"
I hope you do get the chance to go inside someday.
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
Psalm 51: 10-13 |
Edited by - jpbluesky on Apr 30 2009 11:39:09 AM |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2009 : 06:29:56 AM
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Those kind of roads just make you want to go see what's at the other side of the hill. That's the way they are in S. Ga. Just begging to be driven down. The part I don't like is when I came to a cross road. Which way to go then? I'd have to go the other way the next time. And there was always a next time!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2009 : 06:51:23 AM
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Oh Kris: go with your gut! I do that all the time and DH is always like, "how do you go thru so much gas???" lol! Its because I prefer the scenic routes!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
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Miss2Missus
True Blue Farmgirl
407 Posts
Karen
Asheville
NC
USA
407 Posts |
Posted - May 06 2009 : 7:28:48 PM
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I think everywhere has a building like that. One of those old beautiful buildings that just lets the ind run with creativness and at the same time chills you to the bone. we had one up in maryland, it was used as a mental hospital/tuburculos center. the myths and ledges that surrounded it are probabl nothing near the reality. but thats have the fun.
Karen ^_^
http://apple-and-eve.blogspot.com/ |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2009 : 06:06:02 AM
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I've had so much fun with the poorhouse that i cannot wait to set sail on a new journey and find something else. I've made a promise to ALWAYS keep my camera with me and ready to go. I think this may be a new hobby for me!
Dawn #279
MJ's Heirloom Mavens-QMD
http://harvestthymefarm.etsy.com
http://harvestthyme.blogspot.com
~live big, ride hard, and shoot straight~ |
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farmmommy
True Blue Farmgirl
500 Posts
Kelley
Texas
USA
500 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2009 : 07:01:38 AM
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| Hey Dawn...I'll go with ya!!!!! That's what I'll do!!!!! Since I unfortunatley cant make SF now....how about we plan for me to come later in summer??? I'll go over there with ya and we can explore!!!!! Lora can come down.....and that way there would be 3 of us....safety in #'s!!! I can see the local newspaper headlines now " Three Farmgirls arrested for tresspassing and breaking and entering old Knox County Poorhouse"....LMAO!!!! But really....it would be Spooky Fun!!! We could take a whole bunch of pics and make a "BackRoads Scrapbook" about our Farmgirly misadventures!!!! Let's plan it!!! |
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Keeping in Touch: Taking the backroads... |
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Taking the backroads...
