Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood - Softcover

A former staff editor of World Book Encyclopedia and associate editor of Reader's Digest, Betsy J. Green is a noted house historian who has been researching and writing about house histories for over ten years. She has taught house history research at adult educational programs throughout the Chicago area, and has written nominations to list buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Green also regularly presents programs to libraries, historical societies, and community groups.

Most homeowners probably haven't given much thought to who owned their homes two or three generations ago, or what color they were, or whether they once had different street addresses. House historian Green, on the other hand, believes that every older home should have a complete and detailed record of its previous owners, architectural modifications, and history. If you're keen to become an architectural detective, this intriguing book will get you started. Useful tips abound: if, for instance, you're looking for old photographs of your home, and you live on a main thoroughfare, check out photos of parades that might have passed by; if you're looking for information on previous owners, make sure to check for variant spellings of their surname in the relevant documents. In addition, the author steers us toward the right government offices and the appropriate library resources. There's no doubt that this is a special-interest book with a limited audience, but wouldn't it be nice to have a copy on your shelves the next time a would-be house detective asks for help? David Pitt
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