This Deserted Long Island Farmhouse Stayed Unnoticed for Four Decades!

By: Lisa Lee | Published: Sep 16, 2023

Although there are nearly eight million homeowners in the heavily urbanized state of New York, some are much more interesting than others. Each construction has a tale, some of which tell conflicting narratives every day.

Others have occurrences that are buried deep down for years, merely desperately looking to be accessed. This particular property did wait for somebody to unearth the secret behind the walls for forty years.

Neighbors Were Clueless About The Gem In Their Midst

Bryan Sansivero, a distinguished photo-artist, got the information about this mysterious property and asked the city authorities to explore it. The journey takes you to another timespan.

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Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Bryan Sansivero was astonished at how the farmhouse with a long driveway that extends to the rear was so neatly hidden. This is what you’d call hiding in clear view since it was smack in the middle of a bustling community. However, the owners wanted privacy, so this single-room country house went undetected. He says the experience felt like time had stopped.

The Facade Was Breathtaking At One Point

The Victorian residence was once made impressive by its appeal but now it decays from neglect. Here we can see the primary structure that had been constructed in the mid-1800s. The roof had sagged, with a central column having fallen.

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Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

There are nine acres, with a wide range of amenities to suit every need the family had. An area to smoke meat, a garage, milking section, barn for the sheep, stable for their horses, and a few extra barns. Sansivero hopes that his photos will help in some way to rehabilitate a magnificent and historically meaningful residence.

This Once Lovely Home Was Constructed Prior To The Civil War

You’ll have to head to Commack Village, which was once Native American territory, to find the historic farmhouse. It’s in the Suffolk County area of New York.

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Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Urbanization has brought higher levels of development to the location of the Carll Ranch. The ranch has been in existence since the beginning of the 18th century, ahead of the Civil War. So, let us see what awaits us inside…

It May Be Neglected, But Loads Of Treasure Lay Inside

Sansivero repeatedly took photos of the plantation with the permission of the area school officials and the committee. He said that every time he visited, he came up with more items that needed to be highlighted.

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Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

There have been a vast number of precious articles of the past. These scarce photographs remind how unique the property was before it was abandoned and eventually demolished.

Marion Carll Led a Busy Lifestyle

Marion Carll was a community stalwart and much respected. She was a school trustee and helped to find the first PTA.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Education was an integral part of Carll’s life, so it was no surprise that she had chosen the Board for the Commack School Board and the District for academic and chronological purposes. This stylish pair of footwear seen in the image above were likely Ms. Carll’s own.

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She Was Attempting To Preserve The Antique Aesthetic

As a lover of artifacts, Marion Carll aimed to retain the farmhouse’s personality that had been designed in the 18th century as much as possible. She didn’t try to modernize the residence in any way.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Due to her desire to maintain history, there are a lot of old vintage collectibles on the site. Despite being abandoned so many years back, it seemed that Marion Carll was dwelling in a completely different era.

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Connections To Walt Whitman We're Found At The Home

The photos show the existence of the Carll family. A local history book focusing on past things (similar to the house decor) disclosed a few fascinating family property facts.

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“The property where the farm lies, away from Commack Road, had been occupied by the Secatougue Indian tribe. This information was obtained from 17th-century records showing the lineage connection to Walt Whitman.” Indians originally owned it before being transferred to Whitman’s ancestors.

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A Perilous Stairwell Awaits

You can see a large staircase in front of the house. There’s another home stairway to the cellar. The stairs on the next flight were not in decent condition.

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The photographer notes that they only saw the basement one time, and they didn’t get any photos, unfortunately. The stairs broke as they walked back out of the basement, so trying to get more photos would have proven dangerous.

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The Parlor With Its Grand Piano Was Beyond Amazing

Even with all the dirt and residue being built up, this room is a replica of when Ms. Carll was living there. This finely carved piano has been playing some lovely music for a few years.

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Piano and other instruments were the primary means of entertainment prior to the development of the radio. Households would gather to have karaoke or listen to their favorite tunes.

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A Display Of Historical Items

Pots, pans, and glass bottles are scattered around the room. Collectors are now snapping antique bottles like those, with a desire to attain a great article of the past—some of the packages included standard household products such as olive oil and even milk of magnesia.

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There is even a small brochure advertising the 33rd staging of the Sea Girt tournament, which involves multiple states. The American International Riflers Association organized the event in the 19th century.

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Even The Clock Was Stuck In Time

This alarm clock had its hands frozen at 02:54, but we’ll never know the exact date or if it was morning or night when the clock stopped ticking. Next is a bottle that is used to store ammonia, which is a prominent household cleaning agent.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Antique fortune hunters who seek to explore the property will not get a chance to do so. Following the work of Sansivero, the building was cleared up. All valuable items have been placed in safekeeping while the property has round-the-clock security.

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Even The Attic Room Storage Has Stories

The farmhouse not only has a cellar but also an attic storage area. Here, too, beds imply that the room may have been utilized for sleeping—probably for staff members.

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The walls are lined with many metal crinoline frocks dangling from wall brackets. The undergrowth gained popularity across several continents after getting its patent in the mid-19th century. They seem to maintain their excellent condition despite their age.

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The Live Still-Art Remained Unscathed For Years

These artificial flowers have withstood the test of time, having been abandoned for decades. Surprisingly, their colors are still bright and rich. A teacup sits adjacent to some flowers, awaiting the arrival of the owner to take a sip.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

The cloth on the furniture here did not stand well; however, you can tell it looked nice when it was new. Settings of this caliber are what compelled the photographer to state that the house felt so much like going back to the Victorian era compared to any other home he’d ever ventured into.

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Of Course, An Educator Needs A Desk

Caroll was probably working at this desk. She was enrolled in a single-room schoolhouse while growing up in the farmhouse. Carll went to high school in the Queens area of New York and then returned to her hometown as an educator.

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She encouraged schoolmates to tour the farm to gain better knowledge about life on a farm, leading to a local school named Marion E. Carll in 1957. We know that Carll donated the property to the school community.

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The Property Had A Line Of Outbuildings

The vast acreage farmhouse has multiple structures, including barns and carports, a smokehouse, and various barns.

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This image shows the inside of the barn. Ancient farm tools in the facility assisted with highlighting the history of the property as a functional plantation. Caroll asked that the buildings be kept as monuments.

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What Secrets Lay Inside The Safety Box?

The way the lock system is built on this safe has sparked a lot of people’s interest in what it holds. It was created by a safe entity located in Cincinnati.

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A name is engraved on the safe, which the research shows as a former member of staff at the Dental Department of the University of Buffalo. It has not been ascertained how secure the farm has gotten.

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Fireplaces In Every Section Of The House

Fireplaces were typical in older homes before central air systems began to be installed within houses. The residence of Carll had several fireplaces. Some of them still look fantastic, including this one made of marble.

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This would be very welcome to anyone sitting in the corner reading or talking, especially on a frigid night. Except for the peeling wallpapers, the room is perhaps a good picture of how it was when Carll was living there.

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One Particular Fireplace Stood Out

This lovely setup features a well-attired female portrait, sitting nicely atop the mantle of the fireplace, which remains unscathed despite its age. Another picture has two young children, while a third has only one kid and a dog.

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Sitting on the beautiful mantle as well is a teacup, as though someone rests it there and forgets to pick it up. It’s clear that Ms. Carll had electricity, which could be deemed a touch of modernization, as there were two lamps, one of which is still intact and the other badly torn.

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Heritage Was Strewn Across Every Nook and Cranny

Sansivero said the house has a lot of history lying around. Every room brandished something new to observe, like this blue and-white china set in perfect order.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

There are numerous additional artifacts in this scene, such as an oil lamp and a teapot. The roof in this compartment has deteriorated and now looks set to fall apart.

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Parts Of The Farmhouse Have Been Reasonably Preserved, Unlike Others

The renowned photographer says they visited the bedroom, then decided to venture upstairs to the building. The top floor was used as a storehouse and what seemed to be lodging for the household staff.

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The entire ceiling had collapsed, and the walls had been painted in multiple areas. In the meantime, the trash lined up the ground in that section of the house. The hallway had many reminders of history and evidence of past lifestyle occupants.

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Necessary To Register It As A Historical Place

Although the estate is falling apart, over a million other properties, have been placed in the National Registry. This quaint farmhouse might be a perfect addition to that list.

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There are a few criteria to be included in the register. Properties must comply with one, including having made a significant contribution to American history, being linked to a remarkable individual, having unique architectural aspects, or being critical to history.

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Learning About The History of the Carlls

This image below illustrates Carll in the mid-1900s. The photo’s website says that Carll’s sister and two brothers were police officers, and her daughter owned a men’s shoe factory.

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The Carll family has a prosperous history on Long Island, including ties to the Sagitikos Manor, which was transferred to the Setauket Thompson family, then to the Gardiner family. Simultaneously, the Carlls continued to be distinguished members of neighborhoods in and around the Huntington area.

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These Photos Offer Even More Details on the Carll's Lives

This batch of photographs depicting the Carlls offers greater insight into the famous family and how they lived their lives. The clothes that they wore spoke volumes about their societal status.

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Rummaging through many of the pictures and paperwork strewed across the house sheds more light on the family’s history and the type of lifestyle they led, Sansivero said. These valuable heirlooms have been spread for temporary display but have since been taken off the property for safekeeping.

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What's Going on Inside These Halls?

Years ahead of watching popular TV programs for inspiration on how to decorate one’s homes, shiplap was the choice for making your walls look layered and attractive. Many households, including the Carll farm, were drawn to this popular design.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Well-designed mirrors such as the one seen here would help to accentuate the wall, adding great character to the washroom or hallway where they were mainly placed. These designs will last the test of time and are still sought after today.

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The Charm of That Era Shone Brightly!

According to the not-for-profit entity striving to restore the property to its former glory while preserving it, they appreciate the farm they received and want to honor the wishes of the late owner. Electricity will be the only contemporary amenity, heating, and a couple of restrooms.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

What you are looking at is an ancient water storage container known as an ewer (or pitcher) sitting on the nicely-designed dresser. In the event no water was available, they would be the backup for potable water indoors. Mrs. Carll’s home is truly a glimpse into the past.

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Wagons and Sleighs Show How Far Back This House Dates

The first thing on most people’s minds upon seeing the sleigh involves Santa Claus. And rightfully so since Ms. Carll was such a giving person. Horses hauled both the sleigh and car. The plow beside them is evidence of the work that went on at the farm.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

The items in this barn are as entrenched in history as those found in the interior. Every angle of the house is a history lesson, which explains why Ms. Carll wanted it to be preserved.

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Mrs. Carll Appeared To Make Her Own Clothes

Here’s Mrs. Carl’s sewing device, precisely where she used it, probably for many years. You can see wool sitting beside the machine, and it would not be far-fetched to think that it came from the many sheep they raised on the property as well.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

A lot of the clothing items found inside the house were not your typical store-bought items, and were designed nicely. It gives the impression that she was a stylist as much as she was an educator. The electric lamp beside her sewing machine suggests that she sewed often during the nighttime.

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Great Embroidery Work Was On Display

A mannequin blouse and a threaded spool container were seen in the main bedroom of the house. Ms. Carll seems to have been a great stitcher.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Despite being exposed for so many years, the blouse exhibited a great deal of detail and elaborate embroidery work. Ms. Carll may have designed it.

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This Cabinet Was The Ventral Spot For Emergency Needs

Here’s a larger shot of the clock and the bottle scene we’ve seen earlier. This curio cabinet is covered by a variety of interesting antiques. There’s a ceramic horse and a rabbit here, and a lot of bottles of medicine.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Unfortunately, most of their labels are too disintegrated to read. The bottom shelf contains some maps and wooden crates, including one labeled “Kirkman’s.” The smaller bottles seen in these crates may have held spices such as salt and pepper.

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Medicine For A Myriad of Illnesses

Not only was Ms. Carll into farming, teaching, and sewing, she was serious about staying healthy, as this collection of medicine bottles suggests. From indigestion issues to skin problems, she had something to address them all.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Even the Milk of Magnesia which is still very popular today, was there in large size. She clearly wasn’t taking any chances and wanted to make sure there’s a treatment for anything that could arise, just in case it did.

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Leisure And Scholarly Books Were In Abundance

It’s natural for an educator and historian like Marion Carll to be an avid reader. There are several bookcases all over the house. This case is made up of crates that once held “Splendor Sunkist Oranges” from the San Fernando Heights Orange Association in San Fernando, California.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

We see a well-used dictionary, a government book, one called “Modern Europeans,” and many more. Most of them seem to be in reasonably good shape in terms of their surroundings.

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Status of Endangered

For the past decade, historians led by Robert Hughes have made a sustained effort to ensure that the property is preserved. They did not stop until it was placed on the list for endangered properties. Rightfully so, because if this property is not considered being historic, then what is?

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

Mr. Hughes and others raise funds to ensure that the property does not fall back into a state of neglect. He says this time machine should be viewed for what it is and treated accordingly.

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Preserving This Previous Part Of History

The council of the Commack School District and the locals have been working to examine the appropriate use of the remarkable family farm, which is part of the town park.

Photo credit: Bryan Sansivero

The team working to protect the family farm says they are working to make it a restored historic site, and recommendations include a functioning organic farm and a teaching center. Ms. Carll would undoubtedly have loved that idea.

Our next story takes us through yet another quaint, old farmhouse where quite the discovery was found.

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Following the Clues: Finding Hidden Treasure in an Old Farmhouse

Eric, the principal character in this story, inherited his grandparents’ house. It had been nearly 20 years since his grandparents moved out, and between that time and the moment we’re picking up Eric’s story, the old farmhouse had sat alone and unoccupied.

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Eric was a bit hesitant to visit the property at first because the house was bound to elicit a cloud of nostalgia that could quickly overwhelm him. However, after putting it off for weeks, Eric decided it was time to pay a visit and give the house a thorough cleaning. Little did he know that he was about to make a life-changing discovery.

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On the Quiet

Eric checked out the house in general and made a quick mental calculation of how much work would be needed to restore it. This was an important step that had to be done before he could list the property for buyers in the Tennessee area.

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The cleaning process felt like flipping through an old photo album. Every nook and cranny brought on another rush of memories about time spent with his grandparents. Many were blurry and fragmentary, rickety from long-term disuse, just like the creaking farmhouse floors.

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Painfully Abandoned

Eric wandered around the front and backyard to view the old farmhouse from multiple angles. He was trying to estimate the present value of the house and determine how much he could sell it for after making all the improvements.

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It was difficult to come up with a reasonable guess, though, because the house had been abandoned for over 20 years. His grandparents decided to leave in 1997, and the reason behind this move will be understandable to many elderly folks and their families.

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Reason for Leaving

The farmhouse was an ideal place for his grandparents to live. They felt at ease in their quaint little home surrounded by open space. This all changed, however, when Eric’s grandfather was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of lung cancer.

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Out of concern for his safety, they decided to leave their farmhouse and move closer to the hospital he attended for treatment. When Eric’s grandfather finally succumbed to the illness, Eric’s father and grandmother slowly cut their emotional ties to the farmhouse.

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More Deaths

Eric’s grandmother’s health slowly deteriorated following her husband’s passing. She followed him not so long after. It seemed like the grim reaper was following Eric’s family with morbid curiosity because shortly after his grandmother died, his father became sick. He died in 2009.

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Eric was now the legal heir to the Tennessee farmhouse that had sat idle for so long. Too many painful memories haunted the place, so Eric kept postponing his planned visits. Eventually, however, he decided it was time to go.

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Moving On

The logical thing for him to do was to move on by selling the farm. Not only did the house require a lot of work to be done, but the maintenance costs would be too much for him to handle. This wasn’t something he felt he was equipped to do.

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Eric thought long and hard about what it would take to make the house ready for the real estate market. There was a lot of planning to do, so he knew he had to start as soon as possible.

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Taking the First Step

After coming to terms with what he had to do, Eric took the first concrete step towards his aim of selling the property: a thorough cleaning. He climbed up the ceiling and crawled under dark recesses to scrub off decades of accumulated dirt.

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He needed to restore the house to a certain standard, so it would be inviting to potential buyers. During the work, however, he was constantly reminded of his grandparent’s kind nature and of how much he missed them.

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Stevenson’s Treasure Island

While working on restoring the house, Eric began to reminisce about the times his grandfather read Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” to him. This memory provoked a sense of nostalgia for his childhood and a desire for the kind of adventures enjoyed by the characters in the book.

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It also reminded Eric that his grandfather used to be a sailor and had a love for treasure – which might have been the reason why he chose Stevenson’s book. All this inner chatter about pirates and buried treasures piqued Eric’s interest as he cleaned.

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Acting on a Hunch

Eric couldn’t figure out the source of it, but he felt a curious sense of excitement while cleaning his grandparents’ farmhouse. That curious feeling eventually grew into a hunch – his grandparents must have kept a secret in their home, he thought.

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Was he being silly? It did no harm for him to be a bit playful. If he was going to clean up an old home, he might as well make it enjoyable. He went on a mission to discover the secrets of the farmhouse, starting with the closets.

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Standing on It

As Eric searched through the closets, he found that they were just like the rest of the home – filled with dust, odd smells, and creaky floorboards. However, the last closet had an out-of-place section of carpet on the floor.

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Although the closet still smelled and was filled with dust, the floorboards didn’t squeak as he walked over them. For some reason, this floor was more solid than the rickety planks of wood that made up the rest of the house.

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Something Unusual

Eric’s heart pounded as he started to suspect something unusual was lurking beneath the floorboards. He told himself it was probably nothing, but he pulled up the carpet just to make sure. Like a child playing detective, he was following every lead – perhaps as a way to fight off the boredom of cleaning.

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Beneath the carpet, he found a concrete floor. Why would his grandparents only install concrete here and then deliberately hide it? It didn’t make sense to Eric at all.

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Solid Cover

The concrete, however, didn’t take up the entire floor. As you can see from the picture below, it took up less than half the closet – the rest was filled in by wooden floorboards. A bent-up piece of copper was laid on top. When Eric tried to move it with his hands, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

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Eric wondered if it was some kind of trapdoor meant to protect something important beneath. His inner child brimmed with excitement as he imagined the possible purposes of this strange door.

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More Detective Work

Eric wanted to wave away his thoughts as utter nonsense. Part of him considered that he might have been watching too many adventure movies. However, another part kept nagging – why would his grandparents go through all this effort to install a piece of concrete?

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The circle in the middle of the slab could be a means to open it. Eric thought of ways that he could destroy it, but what if this were a safe or a vault, and the only way to unlock the thing was through a secret code?

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Preplanned Concealment

The more he thought about the mysterious slab of concrete, the more interested he became in his grandparents and their lives. They were known to collect antiques and artifacts, so it wasn’t out of the question that they might hide some of them under their beloved farmhouse.

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Eric needed to get past the locked concrete first. Only then would he know what to do next. He wished his father were still alive so that he could shed light on the matter – but he wasn’t, so it was all up to Eric now.

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A Little Research

Eric thought about ways to learn more information about the past. Were there any old newspaper articles or town records that could give a clue as to what this buried box might be? His mind was racked with uncertainty.

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He decided to turn to his mother for advice. Upon calling her on the phone, she told Eric that his grandparents also had a vault in their house in Florida. That was a reassuring sign. Mom was able to give Eric a lot more information than he expected.

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Figuring Out the Code

This mysterious slab of concrete was starting to make more sense. Eric was certain it held some fascinating secrets. Was this a game intended for him to play, preplanned decades ago? His father had never mentioned anything about a vault when he was still around, but Eric’s mother believed that he could still provide a clue.

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She told Eric to key in his father’s birth date to open the safe. She thought of other possible combinations but believed this was probably their best shot.

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Trying to Open the Safe

Eric ran back to the cabinet and followed his mother’s instructions. The birth date of his father failed to open the safe, and so did his father’s social security number. When the third attempt came around, Eric was in for a surprise.

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He couldn’t even get the handle to move. He tried to force it, but it was unyielding. Nothing he did worked, so it was time to ask for help. His mind immediately went to calling in a professional locksmith. That would surely help.

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The Waiting Game

Eric didn’t have the skills to crack a safe, and it irked him that he was left helpless and alone in the old farmhouse. A locksmith from town was what he needed, but just as he was about to call, he had another realization – it was Sunday.

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He wouldn’t be able to get a professional to come to look at it for another day, at least. This was going to be a waiting game for Eric, and it nearly drove him nuts having to wait for Monday to make his next move.

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Undaunted by the Challenge

When Monday rolled around, Eric was in high spirits. He eagerly called the locksmith and anxiously waited for him to arrive at the farmhouse. Once there, Eric showed him to the closet with the concrete box and stepped aside – trusting the specialist’s skills.

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However, the sealed concrete and metal proved harder to crack than they had initially thought. This was going to be a long day for both of them, but they persevered. It was a test that they embraced and found themselves wholly committed to overcoming.

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A Tough Endeavor

Both men managed to stay positive and not be overwhelmed by the difficult situation at hand. At some point, the locksmith might have thought it impossible to break into, but he refused to be discouraged. They both took it one step at a time.

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Soon, they felt their chances of success gradually increasing. The concrete at the surface began to chip away and reveal something beneath. Their hands were hard at work, and the two men must have felt like farmers planting seeds in a rough landscape.

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Security Breach

A gap in the middle of the concrete was revealed to be the key to unlocking the safe. They frantically worked on it as if it were a magical revelation that was gently fading away, soon to be out of their reach.

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Eric keyed in the combination suggested by his mother, and it worked. He was in disbelief. He forgot about the task that had originally brought him there (cleaning up the house) and allowed himself to be consumed by this new mystery.

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The Contents

After the safe was unlocked, they opened the latch. Inside, it was like a black hole, and Eric’s mind raced to make sense out of the darkness. Was this indeed a treasure box that his grandparents had cleverly stashed away for posterity?

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All he could see at first were a bunch of square blue blocks. They looked like old books or medal boxes, but there was a chance that they contained his grandparents’ collectibles. It seemed unlikely that they would create an elaborate box just for some old magazines and knick-knacks.

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No Treasure Chest

He reached inside the safe to investigate the boxes. They were far from the glittering gemstones, sparkling diamonds, and gold bars that he had been imagining while they were working on the safe. Eric was disappointed when all he saw were old books and boxes.

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On top of that, some of the boxes were empty and brittle. He managed to find a few coins, but they were no longer legal tender. Regardless, he studied the articles to satisfy his curiosity.

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Extraordinary Items

It took a moment for Eric to realize that he was now in possession of some extraordinary items. He allowed the book to fall open in his hands, and there, staring up at him, lay a collection of old coins. Heart racing, Eric knew he’d found something valuable – this was a genuine treasure trove!

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It wasn’t only inside the book that he found the coins – they were scattered throughout plenty of other boxes. As Eric opened more of them, he found banknotes as well. However, many had been damaged by the flood.

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More Valuables Inside

Eric removed the soggy bills only to find more underneath. The safe seemed full of old money! He placed the banknotes close to the window in hopes that the sun’s rays would gradually dry them up, so he could salvage as much of it as possible.

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He was glad his grandparents had carefully secured the old money in the safe. As soon as the dampness was gone, Eric planned on slowly separating out the bills.

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Prized Possession

Eric was careful not to cause further damage to the damp dollar bills, so he took time in spreading them out to dry on the floor. To his surprise, there was so much more in the safe than he had expected. A small assemblage of rare coins was now growing into a larger pile.

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He ran some quick calculations in his head, estimating that the silver coins he gathered must be worth thousands of dollars – and there were still more valuables that needed to be unearthed. He felt like he’d stumbled upon a goldmine.

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The Mother Lode

From the dollar bills to the stack of rare coins, every discovery gave Eric the feeling of being inside a mine shaft and following its twists and turns to the mother lode. Could all these pieces be worth as much as he thought?

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Next, he came upon the silver bars pictured above. He’d never seen anything like that before and assumed (correctly) that the dates on the memorabilia were when the states were founded. These items had to be of great historical interest.

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Mint Condition

Eric couldn’t believe his hunch about hidden treasure had been so on point. Following that instinct led him to this cache of rare artifacts that his grandparents had secreted away. The excitement only grew as Eric dug deeper and uncovered more valuable artifacts.

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The large coin in the photo above was one of many, and nearly all of them were well-preserved inside special casings. They shone when Eric opened their boxes. It was as if they had just been polished by his grandfather earlier that day.

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Remarkable Discoveries

Examining all the various items kept in the safe gave Eric a chance to celebrate both his family’s history and their intellectual interests. Opening each box provided an enlightening experience for him that brightened his day.

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As he was digging through the safe, he found a strange toolbox-shaped case and brought it to the surface to get a closer look. Its surface had been oxidizing for years, and that resulted in rust. Luckily, he was able to pry it open.

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Jewelry Box

This had to be one of the ugliest boxes that Eric found inside the old house – it was rusty and filled with mold. However, its contents made Eric’s heart swell – this ugly, decaying case held his grandmother’s most precious jewels.

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If he had found nothing else inside the safe but these heirlooms, Eric would have been satisfied; his troubles would have been worth it, and his curiosity would have been satiated. He took a moment to view his discovery and imagine the necklace dangling from his grandma’s neck.

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Age-Old Furniture

Eric’s grandparents must have had the time of their lives in this farmhouse. They gave in to their whims like mischievous children and set about burying artifacts, jewels, and silver bars. He was thankful that the remnants of their treasure hunting were still around.

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What if more treasure was waiting to be found elsewhere in the house? Eric searched for clues in all corners of the building, keeping an eye out for trapdoors and hidden passageways. Eventually, he found a wooden table in the basement.

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Another Collection Discovered

Still bemused by his recent discovery, Eric decided to take a second look at the wooden table he’d found earlier. The first time around, he thought it was just a crate. However, on close examination, he realized there was far more to it. Eric was astounded at what he discovered when he pried it open.

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The table also had a secret safe inside it! These two successive discoveries were almost too much to handle. Could it be that his grandparents had more hidden treasures to share?

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A Box of Curios

Eric’s grandparents had lived an ostensibly simple life on the outskirts of town, yet for years they were stashing away rare artifacts and antiques of considerable historical value. What inspired them to accumulate so much stuff?

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After opening the second safe, Eric found that it contained similar items to the first one – old-looking boxes, books, and coins. Banknotes and coins were clearly of considerable importance to Eric’s grandparents.

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Striking It Lucky

Eric needed a professional assessment to determine the value of his findings – it was no use trying to do it on his own. The old coins were sure to fetch a high price, but the real prize was the rare bills found in the second safe.

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These bore the signature of John Barr, a man who only served for a month as the Secretary of the Treasury. Issued in 1968, any collector would be delighted to have these in their possession for a price far exceeding its face value.

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Breaking the News

Once Eric had uncovered all the valuable items his grandparents hid at their farmhouse, he set himself the task of figuring out precisely what it was all worth. The biggest question on his mind was what to do with all these precious things.

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He posted his experience on Reddit, attached relevant photographs, and sought out information from those in the know. He was still in utter disbelief about everything that had transpired since he arrived to clean the house.

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More Consultation

The story caught the attention of many Reddit users, but none of them were able to give Eric sufficient knowledge regarding his discoveries. At times, he was left with more questions than answers. He knew he had to do a little more digging to ascertain their monetary worth.

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Eric wanted to understand why these things meant so much to his grandparents. Somebody suggested that he pay a visit to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to get more information about the old coins and notes.

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Appraisal Time

Eric became preoccupied with seeking out information about his family’s old treasures. His grandparents went through so much trouble to protect all these items, and he wanted to understand why. He hoped the answers would make him feel closer to them.

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The old coins were silver, which meant they would fetch a far higher price than their face value. Though they were worth a lot, they had a priceless history attached to them. He would be selling a piece of his family’s history if he parted with them.

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Financial Equivalent

A coin collector befriended Eric on social media. He explained that the coins Eric had found in the safe would have more value to collectors than coins that had not been protected with such a high degree of care.

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At this stage, the rare coins and notes still need to be studied in more detail. This will involve taking into account how they were produced as well as their historical significance. Eric continues to be delighted by the support he’s receiving. The mysterious treasures his grandparents left behind offered an experience he’ll never forget.

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Not the Only People to Make Crazy Discoveries

Old houses often carry a lot of history within them. Just like our two stories above, this family also made an interesting discovery within their own home.

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Imagine uncovering a literal manhole right beneath the floorboard of your home! That is exactly what a California couple documented for all of TikTok to see.

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Another Family’s Shocking Discovery

A woman named Jennifer Little was cleaning and moving furniture in her Central California coast home when she uncovered something strange under the carpet in her room.

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Jennifer moved big pieces of furniture that stood over thick carpet and uncovered a manhole, much to her surprise. She immediately told her husband what she had found.

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What Could it Be?

It is hard to understand the initial shock of finding an entire room below your home. One’s mind might go to some pretty disturbed places.

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What if it was something created for illegal or even monstrous activities? The curiosity of Jennifer and her husband really began to pique.

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What They Discovered

Jennifer’s husband took it upon himself to investigate what Jennifer had found. They opened the manhole and were met with an abandoned area.

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Inside there was cobwebs, dust, and trash. They quickly realized as they moved deeper and deeper inside the room that they had discovered a bomb shelter.

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People Were Prepared

The curious couple also uncovered the shelter was stocked with items meant for survival in case of emergency. Inside there were two bunk beds, urinals, metal cans, trash, posture rest, glass jars, and some very large spiders.

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There was also rainwater dripping down the walls and the steel door was filled with rust due to this. The room had been there for 50 years.

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Storage Room

Jennifer also commented on the ‘storage room’ that was apart of the bomb shelter. According to Jennifer, it was outside of it, which was odd.

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This would mean that you would have to leave the shelter to get to the storage room, which is mightily inconvenient in the event of a nuclear attack.

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Sharing Their Discovery

The couple was so excited by what they had discovered that they decided to go public with it on the app, TikTok. In one of her videos, Jennifer explained that these types of bomb shelters were actually normal for homes that were built in the 1950’s.

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History buffs might remember that the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States was occurring around this time.

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The Cold War

The Cold War was during March of 1947 through December 26th, 1991. It was an intense period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States.

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The rivalry between the two superpowers put many Americans on high alert during that time, fearful of a nuclear attack from the Eastern European rival.

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Instructions Were Common

Booklets detailing how to create shelters were common during the madness and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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In this booklet, they are showing how to build both basements and above ground shelters for the layman.

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Their Discovery Was Well Received

Jennifer’s TikTok videos were incredibly well-received, garnering more than 1.5M views. People from all around the globe found the bomb shelter intriguing.

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Some people also commented about the possibilities of what the shelter could be repurposed for. Some suggested that it could be remodeled as a mancave or used in case of a zombie apocalypse.

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