This dilapidated Victorian farmhouse in the wilds of Maryland was mysteriously abandoned well over a decade ago, together with its contents, which range from antique furniture to creepy dolls and even a collection of rusty vintage cars. Join us as we take a tour and attempt to uncover its secrets. Click or scroll for more...
Photographer Bryan Sansivero, whose stunning book American Decay: Inside America's Forgotten Homes is out now, has managed to gain access to the historic property before nature well and truly swallows it up. Approaching the property, you'd be forgiven for thinking there isn't actually a home there at all. The brick and clapboard farmhouse is almost completely obscured by chest-high grass, unruly shrubs and trees that have been allowed to grow out of control. In fact, the forlorn building is only really visible from one or two angles and is totally hidden from the nearest main road.
After getting through the dense vegetation you reach the forsaken farmhouse, which doesn't appear to have had any visitors for years. Fortunately, the property has remained untouched and trespasser-free, which can be put down to the fact it's just so hard to find.
The only way to gain access is through the screened porch, where a bench and some old wagon wheels have been discarded. As well as offering a bright yet shaded space in which to work, the porch is likely to have been used by the farmer and his family in pre-AC days as a place to sleep on stifling summer nights.
Upon entering the property, the first room you come across is the parlor. According to property records, the 2,160-square-foot farmhouse was built in 1890 and has remained in the same family, so it stands to reason there are plenty of antiques and vintage pieces peppered around the room, including mid-century modern chairs and two wood console TVs from the 1980s.
Rising damp is clearly a problem in the property, judging by the peeling walls and ceiling, though the space appears to be structurally sound at least. A bunch of family photos adorn this Victorian sideboard. Sadly, many of them have crumbled away, with the memories they hold lost forever.
On closer inspection, one of the framed photos shows the farmhouse way back when. An attractive building, it was built in the 'National Folk' style that was popular in the latter part of the 1800s and early 20th century. Adjacent to the house is a paddock, which has long since been overgrown, along with several outbuildings.
Elsewhere in the room are various bits and pieces that should induce pangs of nostalgia among people of a certain age. They include crooner Steve Lawrence's 1968 Moon River LP, three Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year annuals from the 1960s and a General Electric Model 7-4550D radio alarm clock that dates from the 1970s.
The parlor leads into the kitchen, which is painted in a color we'd describe these days as Millennial pink, but was a go-to hue back in the 1950s. A skinny built-in bookcase is still packed with tomes, which range from Department of Agriculture yearbooks to novels and non-fiction books on cookery, religion and more.
Like the other rooms, the kitchen was left more or less as it was when the farmhouse was vacated. A vintage lantern pendant light in red hangs from the ceiling, while a well-used Venta-A-Hood extractor looms over the gas hob, which is littered with random odds and ends. Like many abandoned houses, the cupboards are full of items that would have been used by the residents every day.
To the right of this shot is a white microwave oven from the 1980s, which rests on a metal shelf. A built-in corner display cabinet shows off a number of knick-knacks. You can just about make out a mini Eiffel Tower souvenir and a Loretta Lynn's Kitchen coffee cup, presumably picked up from the country music legend's ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
The next space you encounter is the dining room. Like the parlor, it has a handsome fireplace and fancy furnishings. Interestingly, this room is in a lot better shape, with the chintzy wallpaper more or less intact. Standout pieces include the crystal chandelier and matching sconce, not to mention the upright piano out in the hallway, which is likely to be worth a considerable sum of money.
What looks like a lace wedding dress hangs from the door, which begs the question why would anybody leave something so precious behind? Note the Electrolux 1205 cannister vacuum cleaner in fetching blue. Dating from the 1960s, the robust model is renowned for its potent suction and amazing longevity. They sure don't make 'em like they used to!
Entering the downstairs' hallway, you come across another bookshelf. This one is packed with copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia of Gardening, and contains a book by astronomer Carl Sagan, as well as part one of John Jakes' North and South, which was adapted into one of the most popular miniseries of the 1980s. Now let's explore the upper story.
The master bedroom, while seriously rundown, is elegantly decorated. Frilly pastel-pink curtains are draped across the sash windows. Under one of them is a white wicker crib. To the right, you can see that nature is keen to claim the space, with tree branches having grown through from the outside.
A solid four-poster double bed (sans canopy) with pineapple finials takes pride of place in the room. Crafted from a fine wood such as walnut, it looks in excellent condition, and appears to have been purchased together with the chest of drawers, which share the same late Victorian style.
Among the tattered furnishings and grown-up belongings, there is evidence that this was once home to a young child. A doll sits in a vintage stroller that would have been very smart when it was brand new.
In another corner of the room, an old doll's house, which looks like it was modelled after the real-life farmhouse (it rocks the same clapboard design and green shutters) rests on an antique telephone table next to the window.
Fodder for your nightmares, a tiny doll's head peers out through a hole in the attic part of the house, while its arms and legs hang through the four windows. A crystal lamp lacking a shade is placed next to the hair-raising toy.
The bedroom's chest of drawers, which looks to be late Victorian, doubled up as a washstand. It would have been used for morning ablutions back in the days before running water and probably thereafter too merely out of habit. Placed upon it is a wash bowl and jug set that could very well be over a century old.
This second bedroom, which like the master, has dual-aspect windows, is decorated in a similar, albeit less frou-frou way. It boasts a four-poster bed not unlike the one in the master, but with acorn rather than pineapple finials. Among the other standout objects is a yellow paper plane with a black flame design.
The home's only bathroom is just as rundown as the master and second bedroom, but the products in and above the glass medicine cabinet are quite recent, and likely date from the noughties. They include a box of Nexcare Active bandages, Bausch + Lomb PureVision contact lenses, plastic toothbrushes and a bottle of witch hazel.
The bathroom leads into the third bedroom where another baby carriage stands amongst the bedroom furniture, including a bed with a handmade quilt, a tall wooden chest of drawers and smaller side tables.
The standout piece in this room is the fabulous Art Deco 'waterfall' vanity, a piece that was the height of fashion during the 1930s and 1940s. The condition of the dressing table appears to be top-notch with everything from the wood to the mirror free from damage, meaning it would likely sell for a tidy amount.
A patchwork quilt, perhaps lovingly crafted by one of the former residents, covers the double bed, which is kitted out with a pine headboard. On the floor to the left is a rustic Adirondack picture frame, while an old-school rotary telephone and vase that has stuffed with a doll's head sit on the cabinet to the right.
The farmer was a member of a ski club, and together with his family, would appear to have been into ice skating too given the pairs of skates that are hanging in this cupboard. The storage space also contains roller skates, rakes and brooms, and a number of paint tins.
The old barn next to the house looks like it remains in use as a place to store hay. The farm is still going strong by the way and is famed for its quality produce and meats, which are sold in farmers' markets across the state of Maryland.
The farmer who used to reside in the farmhouse was a rural letter carrier and was charged with delivering mail to nearby rural areas, possibly using this carriage, which resembles the horse-drawn vehicles letter carriers used during the early 20th century. It's just a shame it's been left to rot away in the barn.
Among the farming implements and other things in the barn is this safe, which is all but covered in rust. Whether it contains anything valuable is anyone's guess, but it's possible the code was lost when the last resident passed away.
Behind the barn is something of a treasure trove: a collection of vintage cars that have been left to the elements (hence the rust). Sansivero was only able to photograph one of the vehicles since the others are completely covered in vegetation.
All in all, there are more than 12 classic cars hidden behind the outbuilding, all of which are undoubtedly in need of restoration. Still, even in their rusted state, these vehicles would likely fetch a pretty price at auction, as of course would many of the farmhouse's contents. Exactly why they remain there is a mystery only the current owner could explain.
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