I have had such a hard time deciding where to start. There are so many homes, places, people, and gardens I want to write about. So, I’ve decided. I will just work my way back through family homes, starting with mine.

The stats on our home:

• Built: 1956
• Classic Ranch Style with 1,164 sq feet
• 2 beds, 1 bath
• On almost 1/4 of an acre
• 4 lifetime owners (including us!)

Todd and I bought this little gem in the Spring of 2016. I was not super impressed, but the windows, lot size, and the fact it reminded me of one my all-time favorite homes (Grandma and Grandpa Pete’s) convinced me. There was a lot of work to do. Here’s the exterior the fall before we purchased it.

At some point, I will write an entire post about the before and after (ish) of our ongoing renovation. For now, I want to talk about this home’s history.

I am obsessed with old maps and land patents so, my first step in finding out the story of this home was finding who held the land patent. By looking at maps, and the legal description of our home, I was able to find who held the original patent on the section of land where our house sits. In 1855, certificate # 928 at the Stevens Point Land Office was granted to John Phillips. From my short research, I believe he was one of the first physicians in Stevens Point.

My next clue in the story of the land comes from an 1895 land plat. The land had passed to C.F. Russell. It is an interesting map, because you can see the shape of the neighborhood begin to form. I have done some research on Charles but can’t remember where I put it, so it will have to wait for another day. This is the 1895 map overlayed onto a current Google map. The point of the red dot is our home.

By 1915, a plat of the city shows the land to be owned by W. H. Dumbleton (I assume he is Dumbledore’s American cousin, ha)! Once again, you can see where we are located, despite the overlay being so soft. You can aslo see neighborhoods starting to be sectioned out.

From here, I will have to do some real digging and footwork to find the missing information about the land and what was happening on it. But, I do know that in 1956, Ward and Evelyn Naramore built our home.

Ward Naramore was born in 1902, in Irma, Wisconsin. He graduated from a teacher’s college, after which he taught grade school, until his marriage to Evelyn, in 1929. During WWII, he served as corporal with United States Air Force. After the war, he served in Hawaii with the US Navy Seabees. I was so excited when I found out he was a Seabee, as my own grandfather was also one. Ward was employed by the legendary Lullaby Furniture company here in Stevens Point. He also was the president of the local carpenters union. He died in November of 1975.

Evelyn ‘Jelinski’ Naramore was born in 1906, here in Stevens Point. She worked at another Stevens Point landmark industry, the Weber Fly Factory. Evelyn must have been from strong stock, she passed away in 2007, at the age of 101.

The couple had one son, named Ronald, who was killed as a young boy in 1934. The boy was playing in the backyard at a family home in Merrill when he was ran over by a truck. He is buried with his parents at Guardian Angel Cemetery in Stevens Point.

From 1956,when the home was built until sometime around 2002, our house was owned by the Nararmores. Evelyn was moved to a nursing home before passing. Some of our current neighbors remember her as a kind, very old lady.

After the Naramores, two other owners lived here, but they stayed for short periods of time. We closed on the house March 28, 2016. It needed some love. We took it on knowing the home, which we guess Ward had quite a hand in building, hadn’t had many repairs or updates in decades.

In the process, we’ve found a few ladies hats up in the attic (Todd thought he’d found a scalp). And in 2016, while tearing out the bathroom ceiling just a day before Todd’s birthday, a handful of cards fell out. One just happened to be a birthday card, signed by Ward, himself.

There is a lot of comfort knowing about who this home has belonged to, and I feel like the improvements we’ve made would be approved by the Naramores. Despite having two other owners, it will always be Ward and Evelyn’s house. I think she would really like all the flowers we’ve added!

So, here is the little snapshot of our home’s history. There is still more I’d like to find out, but it’s a great starting point for digging into the history of where we live, from the home, neighborhood, city, county, and state. Every little plot of land has a story.

I hope to find out more about the Naramores, Russell, and Dumbleton.

In my next several posts, I will add to what I’ve learned about the owners, tips on where to find information on your own home, and of course the saga of our home renovations.