By Christopher Olson

LMCH Researcher

When asked to research a potential century home last week I was very surprised to realize the lot on Tennessee had been undeveloped decades after 1920. Even more confusing was that the shape of the home on the Tennessee lot today is very typical in design to a home built in the 1920’s. Just to confirm, I made a trip to the library as they have a collection of aerial photographs of the entire city from 1925. With the help of LuAnn Mims, the Special Collections Librarian, we found a photo that included the lot on Tennessee. We confirmed that the lot was indeed vacant. What was going on; this made no sense? There was a break in the case after I reported back to the current owners that the existence of their home was a mystery to me. It was then that they provided a very curious bit of information. “Years ago, an older, now passed, neighbor casually mentioned how she recalled the day the house was moved from Florida Avenue to its current position.” I scratched my head and thought, “Which house and when?”

Scanning north and south along the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company’s 1922 map of the homes on Florida, I spied a candidate that was of similar size and shape. A quick check revealed that this home no longer existed on the Florida lot. I then determined that the building currently on the lot had been built in 1954. Checking the city directories around that year for both properties broke the case. The owners, Arthur & Beaulah Strickland, had relocated their home between 1950 and 1951, having purchased the lot on Tennessee, and then selling their lot on Florida. Reviewing the age of the home prior to being relocated, it was determined to have been built in 1921. Making it a Century Home for the upcoming New Year.