While commuting to Millersville University from my parents house for a year (a few years ago now), I always took the back roads through Pennsylvania farm country to avoid traffic. I drove past this house roughly 10 times a week while in college. While staying in Lancaster, PA this weekend, I finally decided to stop and explore.
It was raining and hazy when I visited this property. I'm actually surprised my car didn't get stuck in the muddy driveway as I was traveling away from this home. Located on Hereford Road in the Rheems/Elizabethtown, PA area, this old farmhouse has been vacant for over 15 years. The rain, wind, snow, and other elements have obviously taken a toll on this big farmhouse.
The interior was beyond falling apart. More than half of the floorboards were missing which led me to suspect that someone was taking the wooden planks and repurposing them for something somewhere else. The plaster walls were crumbling. Lead paint flaking. Wallpaper peeling. Ceilings collapsing. Get the drift?
I'm assuming that a nice farmer purchased this property not for the home - but for the large amount of farmable land surrounding it. The barn on the land had locks on the doors and fresh tire marks leading to the entrance through the brush. At least someone is taking care of the land. There were wildflowers, weeds, and daffodil bulbs in the gardens and yard of the home.
Although I didn't walk through the entire house, due to the missing and loose floorboards, I'm really glad that I finally actually stopped to see this building. It was beautiful. Homes are built so much differently today than when old homes like this were built. This house is probably at least 100 years old, if not older.
What do you think of this one? Pretty? I'd say so. If you go to check it out, make sure you don't let your tires sink in the mud and tell me if you dare to walk the planks upstairs!
