As genealogists, we love to dig into our family history. What about the history of your house? My neighborhood was built in 1955 and offered Korean War veterans a three-bedroom house for a down payment of just one dollar. The floor-plan offered space for growing families although electrical outlets were limited. The builders never imagined all the electrical appliances we would need.
There are many historic neighborhoods in Denver including Congress Park, Curtis Park and the Baker Neighborhood. People come to the Denver Public Library to study building permits for these properties as well as the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. The library may also have historic photographs of the houses and neighborhoods.
Some properties are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Colorado Register of Historic Places or the list of Denver Landmarks. There are specific requirements and an application process for listing a property in each program.
Perhaps your family was from a small town. You might be interested in researching the history of the town from its establishment to its growth or demise. My great-grandparents moved to the boomtown of Roberts, Texas, in Hunt County when the railroad terminus was established there in 1893. My great-grandfather sold sewing machines there. Sadly, the railroad pushed on ten miles to the north, there was a major fire and the town was abandoned – but not before my grandmother Dollie was born there.
Cemeteries, too, have a founding date when the first graves were placed there. Perhaps that cemetery is the resting place for your entire family of ancestors. Was it established by the town or by a church or a fraternal organization such as the Odd Fellows? There may be historical markers or historic architecture, such as the Gate House at Fairmount Cemetery.
All these places have stories waiting to be told.
~ Carol Cooke Darrow is teaching a free Beginning Genealogy at the downtown Denver Public Library on the second Saturday of each month from 10 am – noon.