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Our Ghostly “Stair Walker”
Our comfortable old Iowa Italianate style farmhouse was built in 1865, at least in its first incarnation. I’m sure it was added onto at least twice, with the final addition in the 1920’s a connection from the old detached summer kitchen to join that to the house. This makes our home narrow in the front, but it stretches far back on the lot, and the connection of the kitchen gave us a comfortable small den that we added a wood stove to. Now that is where we cocoon the winters away.
I fell in love with the house the first time I saw it on the market, and agonized until we could get it bought. I love thinking about the history of all those who have walked the rooms before us. Thanks to a local historian, I know the builder of the house was the tailor, Mr. Lytle, who raised his family there. The home then has changed hands over 12 times over the years until our purchase.
There isn’t a non-creaking, level floor in the house. The upstairs has four bedrooms that all empty out to the only bath upstairs, and to the center stairwell. The living room is very large, as is the dining room, which is of course a long way from the kitchen. And, most importantly for me, I have a library for my well-loved books completing the “square floor plan” on that part of the home.
When we were in the home about a month, and adjusting to the quirks that come with a historic…
