How do I find out the history of an old home?

Hi, perhaps check your local historical society? There may be a local historian who can tell you about the house.

Also, you could check your local archives? Is the address mentioned?

Newspaper databases too. You can often search for key words. You may be able to find a mention to the address. Or speak to the archivist at your local newspaper?

Even do a google search for important buildings in your area. Check at your local library too. Often there may be books about the history of the local area or local architecture.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

Liz

History of ownership would be in the county register of deeds office, which is public information. Each deed should reference the one before. They may or may not be able to help you search by address but usually you will need to go with current owners full name in hand. With regard to building permits you would have to find the codes office with municipal juristiction and you can research any permits associated with that property. The codes office is usaully not as organized for searching a particular property, they usually catelog the permits by date of issuing. If your having trouble in either of these offices just go up to one of the clerks, tell them what your doing and ask if they can show you how.

In some parts of the country outside companies have begun to catelog this information and put it online, but don’t know what state your in. Hope all that helps.

You could go to property valuation at the county clerk’s office and get the transfer history. If you live in a state that attained statehood after Kentucky (1792) then property is organized by county/township/lot/block and the ownership history is easier to see. There were so many lawsuits over land in KY that all states formed after that abandoned the practice of using property landmark calls. (“Beginning at an oak tree on the property line of Brown’s track, then proceeding 634 -½ feet to a poplar tree…” that sort of thing).

Another way to do it would be to go to the library and look up the address in the Criss-Cross Directories. That would tell you who lived at the address each year, assuming that they responded to the directory folks.