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moo_

House Names and Signs- Do you have one?

moo_
16 years ago

I love houses with names and it's something you seldom see.

Does your house have a name?

Does it have a sign post? (Do you have a pic?)

I'm trying to buy and old house and I'm going to make a sign with it's name on it. It's always been called the Schumacher House since I've been born even though no Schumachers have lived there since the 1920's.

I'm interested in anything that has to do with this tradition. Any input would be appreciated.

Comments (16)

  • Carol_from_ny
    16 years ago

    Our house's name was registered with the county in the 1940's the day after Christmas tho it'd been using that name for a long time. I have a copy of the certificate of registery.
    For the longest time I could not figure out where exactly the name came from. Then one day I was sitting in a church doing some stuff for the scout troop I was working with and I looked up and on the door to the room the kids were using that day was the answer to my puzzle. On a simple plaque there was a dedication for the stain glass window on the door it was a name of a beloved grandparent to one of the homesowners of this house.
    Because our house was part of a farm we not only have a name but there exsist milk bottles with the name embossed on them.
    I lucked out a few years ago and got my hands on one of the bottles....someday I hope to find a egg crate with the name on it too tho that's not nearly as likely.

  • calliope
    16 years ago

    Naming houses is a very common thing in England, especially character houses. They don't always carry a family name, but often a description of the trade carried on in the house. MY SIL's parents lived in "The Old Bakery", as an example.

    It is very common for farms or former farms to have a name, even if it's not official or registered. They were places of business after all. My home has been called The Old ***** Farm since the 1930s, when that family purchased it. The younger generation doesn't always automatically know this name, but it's recognised by the older generations.

    Before the 1930s, it was referred to as The Condrade Place and I run across this reference in local history books. I haven't hung signage yet but do have a beautiful metal plaque to hang one day.

  • brutuses
    16 years ago

    We're going to name our new house after my DH's aunt whom we loved dearly and wanted desperately for her to see the house. Unfortunately she was displaced with Katrina and it took its' toll on her and she passed away last year at the young age of 98. We will call our new home "Mollie Manor." I know she'd be tickled to know we named our house after her.

  • kimkitchy
    16 years ago

    Funny you should start this thread... we just ordered an oval house sign for Christmas. My husband is an anglo-phile and loves the idea of house names. We struggled to come up with one until one day one of his co-workers kept using the term "timely manor" inappropriately in a contract. We started thinking how long we've been restoring our home and we decided Timely Manor was a great pun for our home. We are adding the date circa 1913 to the sign. Can't wait to get it. By the way, the garden will be Avant Garden! Cheers, Kim

  • calliope
    16 years ago

    LOLOL I love it!

  • vjrnts
    16 years ago

    My house was operated for a short time as a B&B, and the owners called it "Wynderly." My husband finds this unbearably twee, so I use it just to annoy him.

    Our house is known in the neighborhood, though, as the Weber house, for the family who lived here from 1953 to 1986. There were two owners between the Webers and me, but it's still the Weber house.

  • trailrunner
    16 years ago

    Our home is the Abbott House. Mr Abbott built the house in 1890. He was the photographer for our town . We are planning signs for all the homes in our registered historic district. Caroline

    {{gwi:643970}}

  • kren_pa
    16 years ago

    don't know if it ever had a name, or who the original builders were in the 20s, but we call it sycamore ledge. we have several more colorful names for the previous owners...
    the name itself is a little bit of a joke because this is just a humble bungalow in the woods...
    kren

  • bjbauman
    16 years ago

    Our 1879 home is known by some in the area as the "Wolf House" after the family who lived here from 1959-1993. The original builder was a fellow named Peter Kaut, so "Kaut House" would be more appropriate, but nobody but us has ever heard that name.

    The only thing I don't like about naming a house after a builder is that it is easily mistaken for the current occupants' name. If I had a sign with "Kaut House - est. 1879", I imagine many people would think we were the Kaut family.

    One of my favorites is a beautiful, run-down 1843 home named "Simplicity House". Not sure where the name came from, but it has a nice ring and definately not mistakable for a family's surname.

    While we are discussing it, if your house does have a name, where & how do you display it?

  • Saypoint zone 6 CT
    16 years ago

    Our house is known as the "Willard House" after the family who built it in 1837. There is a plaque on the house with the name and date, but I think whimsical names for houses are fun, too.

    What I need is an attractive way to direct people around the corner to our driveway, as we are on a corner lot. First time visitors and deliveries often mistake the right of way to the rear lots for our driveway, even with the dense hedge that separates us.

  • hillcresthoney
    16 years ago

    Our home is called Hillcrest and I guess for no other reason than it simply sits at the highest point of the 100 acres my great-grandparents purchased in 1917. It was built in the 1830's and my husband has lovingly restored it during the last 25 years that we have owned it.

  • antiquesilver
    16 years ago

    My 1858 house is listed on the Historic Bldg Survey as the "David McMinn House", after the original owner who was also the builder. I keep thinking that I'll buy a bronze HABS plaque & another one with the name & date on it, but the money always goes to something more vital!

  • clover8
    14 years ago

    My c. 1911 house is called The Monie Pit. ;)

  • missouri1
    14 years ago

    I had a little fixer 1900 built house. I loved it dearly but we had to sell her and didn't get the work completed that I had hoped to either. My plan was to fix her up and live there. I googled the old house and finally was able to see it on street view. It looks like my buyer didn't do anything and even a window may be boarded up. I just felt sad. I used to go over and work on the house and a song played in my head. I had a name picked out that was perfect for her and I had planned to have the name put on the house when we finished. I've never told anyone the name, only my husband that I had one in mind. I love that little house and I'd have it back in a flash if they would sell her back for a decent price.

  • igloochic
    14 years ago

    We're looking at homes in Port Townsend WA and they all have names so far. Some after the family who originally had it built (most of those) and a few for trades as well. It's a historic district and they take it seriously :) So I can't change the name to something like Simplicity House (which is lovely).

    Most have plaques but the one we hope to buy has a sign out front. I'd probably redo the sign and state it was a private residence because it's a tourist attraction. (That is if the silly gal selling it takes our second offer...cuz it's sadly our last) :( Anyhoo, but the end of summer I will be able to post a name of our house...if we don't get the one we want the most, we'll be buying another instead.

  • kimcoco
    14 years ago

    Clover, you beat me to the punch.

    c. 1929 Money Pit, and the sign reads, 'Enter at Your Own Risk'

    :) LOL