A Forgotten Southern Home

On Friday, Mama and I took the longer way home, which is going down #1 Highway a little further. On the right, I looked over and saw what looked like a very old house. I was immediately curious on if I could get there, and asked Mama the next day if we could go by there on Saturday (28 November). We got there around 1:30pm, and below is a photograph I made which is how you see this forgotten house from the road. There was no way we could get there through the front. Although it was only about a five minute drive from back home to there, it took us a good ten minutes to walk from the side of this house to the back. We still had to walk through tons of briars and overgrowth.

Once I looked at the back of the house, I began to take some self portraits while Mama was scouting out the place. I was intrigued by the mirror which was right beside this doorway I am in.

I did my best in trying not to move the briars too much because I wanted the same feel in the photographs as I was feeling in real life. Just looking through these images make my heart race again and this beautiful find that seems to be forgotten.

When I first entered the home, I felt spooked. Everything was so eerie because everything from shoes to wigs and even a SCE&G electric bill from 1966 for $11.36 was on the floor. Shown above was a room I spent the most time in. On the far right, you can see a wig and on the mantle there is a purse and bottle which Mama ended up taking with us on the way back.

This is in the same room as the fireplace. As you can see, there is a coat still hanging even after many decades. The light in this house was perfection in my eyes, and I tried to savor it as much as I could with photographs.

This room still had clothes hanging on a rod and on the opposite wall there were many other dresses. I ended up taking one of the dresses which I believe was handmade because there are no labels. I am hoping Mama can fix it up enough to where I can have one of my friends model it off. Mama was very quick to say how the woman who owned these clothes was very stylish. I fully agreed.

There was such a sad story within this house, but it was also bittersweet. After rain, humidity, rats, birds, and whatever this house has experienced after its abandonment, I can just imagine the book it could read to us. It already spoke so much to me that I hope to dive into its story again in the future.

Around the time this photograph was being made, Mama was in the opposite room where she was finding these old bottles behind a piece of the wall. Two of them were caster oil, which she wondered why they had to be hidden. It was so great seeing her determined to get those finds. When she got the biggest bottle she wanted pried away, I remember seeing her face and just saying "Wow" in utter amazement. I still laugh and poke fun at her because she thought we would never be able to get to this house, but I remember very well telling her we cannot quit. I'm glad I was determined.

I believe I really would have loved this coat in its day.

I really love this photo I made of Mama posing with one of the purses she found. What history and power and emotion.

This was a photo I made before Mama and I made the journey through the briars again to my car. I do not think I'll ever forget this house. What an adventure. I hope you enjoyed this journey through photographs.

Always,

Des'ola