The House That Built Them

The old adage “if walls could talk” has always been a favorite of mine. In the rhythm of my profession, I regularly tour hundreds of homes without hesitation. New homes, old homes, unfortunate homes that have potential, homes that still resemble their former glory, and homes that are so extravagant they seem unreal or unattainable to just the average person. As I pass over the threshold of each dwelling, I am oftentimes struck with sense of reverence for the lives of those who occupy, or once occupied, that space. I ask myself a series of questions - Who lived here? Where did they go, why did they leave? How long did they live here, and what were their fondest memories? These questions I may never know the answer to, of course, but they are questions that hold some significance to someone like me, I guess. 

It all started with a simple request from a client. 

While preparing to make an offer on a property, my client at the time wanted to know how many people had owned the home before them. An odd request, sure, but not one I hadn’t had to research before. A lot of people ask me to look up strange requests. I once had a client ask me if anyone had died in a certain home (not a material fact in NC, but becomes one when the client asks for it), and another client asked if any reptiles had ever been inside the home. Nevertheless, I get some strange questions - but this one piqued my interest in a personal way. 

My wife and I purchased our 1969 Colonial Revival, Second-Story Overhang style home in January 2018, and it never really crossed our minds to look into the history of the property. I mean, yes, we did our due diligence to research the property back to a reasonable amount of time, but I didn’t really know the story of this house and the lives of the people who called this place home back when it was originally constructed. After satisfying my client’s request, I then took it upon myself to start looking into the history of my own house. I began with tax records, and then leveraged the power of the internet to take it to the next level, and let's just say the internet did not disappoint. 

The first owners of our home were listed in the tax records as Lloyd and Kay Hedgepeth. Normal people would be satisfied with just knowing that and going on about their business - but not me. After performing a web search for their names, I stumbled upon the footnotes of a publication written by a University Professor in Alabama named Julie Hedgepeth Williams. Surely she was related to these people in the tax record, so I did some more digging. While reading the footnotes of the publication, she attributed some of her research to her parents, Lloyd and Kay Hedgepeth, during their time living in where else but Raleigh, North Carolina. It was at this moment I knew I was getting close to a breakthrough, so I had to learn more. I took it a step further and found Mrs. Williams on the University’s faculty page and then, out of sheer excitement, sent her an email asking if she had ever lived in our house.

"There are some stories that become entombed within the walls of our homes, and I, for one, didn't want to let this one fade away in the folds of time."

I didn’t expect to hear back from Mrs. Williams at all, let alone within an hour of sending my initial inquiry. As it turns out, I had found the right person. Mrs. Williams spent her childhood in our home after her parents purchased the home we currently live in while it was under construction back in the late 1960’s. It was an exciting yet strange feeling to connect with a perfect stranger about a building they lived in for 23 years, but there was something really neat about it at the same time.

After some emails back and forth, I stepped out on a limb and invited Mrs. Williams to pay us a visit next time she was in town. Who knows, she may want to take a walk down memory lane, so why not extend the invite? I never imagined she would take us up on the offer (although it was a truly valid offer), but she did - and she did so in a big way. 

This past Sunday, the entire Hedgepeth family - parents and all three of their now adult children - reunited at the front door of our home in Oak Park. Smiles on their faces and ours, we welcomed this jovial family into the foyer of what was once their beloved family home. For almost two hours, they shared stories of sleepovers on the screened porch, awful 60’s wallpaper, wagon-wheel light fixtures, halloween haunted houses (they hosted a haunted house for the whole neighborhood in almost every room of the house!), the cat door, gold carpeting, their dog Scout, the crazy steep driveway, and the perils of using a ladder to clean the windows on such a tall house. The tour was sweet, nostalgic, and almost felt so natural as if we had all been friends for years.

I’ve heard it said before that the stories we tell are oftentimes rooted in our shared human experiences. These stories - whether tragic, dramatic, inspirational, or nostalgic - live on in the hearts and minds of those who remember them, and will eventually disappear if not recorded or transcribed at some point. There are some stories, however, that become entombed within the walls of our homes, and I, for one, didn't want to let this one fade away into the folds of time. After all, we shared a home - though not simultaneously but within our lifetime.

Inviting the Hedgepeth’s back to visit the place they once grew together as a family and hearing their stories of laughter and love removed at least a portion of the mystery the walls of our home had been keeping locked away all these years. As they departed, my wife and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with joy knowing that the house this wonderful family built oh-so long ago is now the house that would continue to build our little family, too. It seems that for now, at least in this case, the walls of this old house simply weren’t allowed to contain their silence any longer.  

Steven Squires is a Broker/REALTOR? with Costello Real Estate & Investments, LLC. in Raleigh, NC. Visit resideraleigh.com for more information or to get in touch about buying or selling next home! 

Special thanks to Author, Speaker, and Professor Julie Hedgepeth Williams for connecting me with her family and setting up this memorable experience! Her books are awesome and available online here: https://juliewilliamsauthor.wixsite.com/julie-williams