Goal for the Day: Chronicle Your Home’s History



Details of photos of my home from 1890, 1932 and 2002.

 Whether your home was built in 1890 or 1990 or anytime before or after, it’s your home. It’s part of your history and you’re a part of its history. You won’t always live there. In time, another family will move in and become a part of the home’s collective narrative. Obviously, I’m interested in history or I wouldn’t do what I do or live where I live, but I think all of us have an interest in permanence as well as seeing how we’ve gotten where we are.


Very often, we take out homes for granted. We walk the same floors, see the same sights and, frankly, let our surroundings fade away. As we approach Thanksgiving in the United States, let’s take some time to take a few pictures of our homes—both inside and out. Though they may seem like nothing special to you right now, in the future, those photographs will be quite important. Imagine how thrilled I was to be given photos of my house. Luckily, the original family kept good records of how the structure changed from 1890 to the present. What may seem commonplace to you will be a treasure to someone else in a century.