No, this isn't Berry Hill Mansion that I promised to post about...this is the little white house on Route 58 where I grew up. (But keep reading, I did post about a mansion today.)
We rode by my parents' first house on our country drive last week, and I wanted to post a picture of where my family lived until I was 11 years old. I wrote about it a few years ago on the post Where I'm From.
This old barn is on property behind the little white house and belonged to my dad's parents. Evidently the current owners left it standing because it is such an interesting old barn. (Notice a portion of a gazebo on the right that was added sometime after my grandparents' house was sold in 1967.)
I played inside on the dirt floor of this barn in the 1950's calling out to the doodlebugs. We would draw circles in the sand around a doodlebug mound, blow gently on it, and sing, "Doodlebug, doodlebug, your house is on fire!" and we'd watch the sand start moving.
Remembering that jingle got me curious, and I googled "doodlebug house on fire." A site called All Things Southern popped up with several variations of the doodlebug song (scroll 3/4 of the way down the page for the jingles). Another site stated:
Perhaps the most well-known example of a doodlebug charm was published in 1876, when writer Mark Twain included one in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: "Doodle-bug, doodle-bug, tell me what I want to know!"
I also found a blog called Sliding Through Life and read a post along with some interesting comments written on doodlebugs, of all things! And I always thought it was my mom who made it all up. I never knew other people knew about doodlebugs like we did!
Not far from the barn stands Bloomsburg Mansion (Circa 1839), my dad and Aunt Bunny's homeplace. I never knew that it was called Bloomsburg Mansion until I researched some for this post! I'm amazed! Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to live there again!
I played with my dolls on this porch (well, on the original porch) and rode my bike between the boxwoods that lined the driveway (before they were cut down)...oooh, I do remember those chiggers after one of those rides!
If you check out the South of the Dan Driving Tour site for Historic Buildings of Halifax County, Virginia, you will see a photo of the house from years past, and there are pictures inside and around the back of the house. In the article, the sentence that stands out to me is the one that begins the third paragraph from the end. It reads:
In 1922 the estate was sold to James A. Solomon, and his heirs held it until 1967.
James A. Solomon was my great-grandfather.
~Deb
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Adventures ~ Part 1 ~ Wedding Parsonage
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Oh, I love things like this! Personal family history is fascinating to me. I think it's a great treasure to be able to ride past the places you knew growing up. There's a mountain in north GA with my maiden name, that was owned by my father's ancestors at one time - now owned by the power company. There's an old family cemetery at the top with many of my ancestors buried there - just love to visit it and think of the family history! And there's an old homeplace in upstate SC, way out in the country, where my grandfather grew up. It was sold long ago, but we can still drive by and see the land (house has been torn down or remodeled). I feel a connection to that land even though I've never stepped foot on it! LOL Loved your post today, Deb!
Posted by: Susan | Friday, May 29, 2009 at 02:15 AM
What a rich family history you have. I love the old mansion. My husband and I bought an old mansion in Indiana many years ago and restored it. At that time we only had one child but there were eight bedrooms! It was quite a job keeping that big place clean. Thanks for sharing about your wonderful family history.
Victoria
Posted by: Victoria | Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10:00 AM
What a gift to be able to visit the old homeplaces. I'm sure it would be sweet and little sad at the same time. I always feel that way when I drive by my old home.
Posted by: Islandsparrow | Friday, May 29, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Deb, what a gorgeous Mansion! I have to agree, it is very enjoyable to hear about someone elses rich family history. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Karen | Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 07:27 PM