11/14/2024
It stood behind us for as long as we lived at our home; in fact, centuries before. Initially built in the 1830's she was nuzzled amongst acre upon acre of farmland, of which many years later, became the number one suburb in the country. She, a bit of a giving tree, carving off acre by acre to Keystone Expansion, the CHS football stadium.
When we met her she existed nuzzled within 59 acres of woodage.
Our modern and updated home, built in the '80's, backed up to her. We didn't think about her too much; entirely covered when the trees were full of leaves, and only visible in the barren months. She was rough around the edges, showing her age, even when inhabited. And yet, we felt gratitude for her, and her final inhabitant, William Hull, well into his 80's at the time. Our daughters explored the woods, sharing the land with deer and red fox and big barn owls that hooted into the night. There were thanksgivings we would drop off cookies, or pralined nuts or chex mix in gratitude for the gift of the woods, that were not ours, yet ours to delight in.
In 2014, at 93, Mr. Hull passed away; his longtime home and acreage reverted to his estate and it was ultimately determined it would be sold for development. In following years, alongside fellow neighbors, we became involved in advocating for the home to be placed under temporary historical protection. At the time, mostly a move to preserve as much of the wooded acreage, and accompanying privacy. With success She was saved, along with surrounding 2+ acres; weirdly tucking her even further back from connectivity. As time passed, it was gifted to Indiana Landmarks.
We'd watched, over the past years, as a planned community developed to one side.. This home, now a deserted house, full of broken glass and graffiti, kids chased off on occasion.. Disoriented from back to front in a parcel that now forces the rear to become the entry, it seemed she was uncomfortable within her own space.
She caught Matt's eye in a new way in early 2024. She sagged in a bunch of places, was wrinkled and weary, and yet he was drawn to her. I can't remember the lead up, perhaps we had been discussing home prices in our community as our older two inches closer and closer to independence; how difficult it has become for most young people to afford home ownership in our community. Or, maybe we had recently read about Carmel voted, yet again, as a top community in the nation to live in. But something hit Matt in a way it hadn't before. And so, it began, a couple of months of discussion with Mark Dollose at Indiana Landmarks; who was patient with us and generous in time and expertise. AND after a couple of long months of discussion, fact finding, and negotiation between Matt and I, we closed in September 2024.
Midlife love affairs can look a lot of ways-this one just happened to be the old home in the woods.
