Thursday, March 01, 2012

The Old Home--Montrose, Alabama


Montrose used to be a separate entity, some five miles north of Fairhope. It was older, more Southern, more settled, less contentious. It was the place my parents found a home for the family in 1949.

"It's not much of a house, we said," my mother told me some forty years later. "But it's a nice place for a house." The three and a half acres was pretty spectacular, even then. It was dotted with oaks, dripping with Spanish Moss; there was space in the back for a pasture for horses and an area for a nice little chicken house to the north of the house. The house sat on a hill and looked grander from the old highway than it really was, but its interiors held cozy corners and great light and high ceilings (is 14 feet high enough for you?) and was designed in the day when it was important to catch the breezes in summer. It was almost as if it had its own air conditioning system.

Our family owned and treasured the house for some sixty years, by which time our mother, who stayed on there, had allowed much of it to fall into disrepair. To say that she had not updated in on a regular basis would be an understatement. Still, the three adult children, all relocated nearby, visited every day and always felt that sense of joy that is the pride of a home. All three of us love old homes and like nothing more than restoring and refurbishing them. But in our hearts there will always be that certain house, that certain place to which our mind returns. It is a specific, special old house, occupying the crest of a hill in Montrose.

My brother Graham assured me that the family who bought it after our mother died treasured the house just as we did, and wanted to restore it to the best house it could be in today's world.

Today I took the opportunity to visit and my spirits soared. You still enter the house from the kitchen, always awkward, but for the visitor very warm and charming.

The wide center hall is enhanced by the new owners' antiques--and by their good taste in keeping things simple.
They've added a building at the back where they can entertain and just chill out. This is where there was once a chicken house, or a stable, depending on which child tells the story. We had both, at different points in time. Later my father had a carport built, which soon was used for storage and basically became, as Mama would say, a junk pile. It is now cleaned up for useful living space.

I came away from my visit feeling happy and a little nostalgic. But I had long since given the house away in my mind. The property still holds memories, and the new family will build a new life revolving around the heritage of home that shines throughout the simple space. These pictures I shot today give a feeling of what a wonderful house it is for all time.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

How lovely a visit for you and for me the reader. A few years back on a fair Spring day four strangers showed up in our backyard. They were strangers to us but not to our home. Seems their grandfather built it, as well as the homes on our east and west sides. After we talked I a while in the yard I invited them in and they were pleased with what they saw. They told many family tales. After the inside tour, I took them to the garden plot back on the property and dug up some perennial herb plants for each of them. So they could take a little bit of their homestead home.

Mary Lois said...

Thank you for sharing your "old-home" memory. There is indeed something about older houses...

BENJAMIN LATROBE said...

Thank you for explaining how this home relates to you. I enjoyed reading your recollections of living in the house and later visiting your mother there. I am so happy that the home passed to good hands. I already told you that this is my favorite type of home - very traditional and classic. I love dormers in upstairs rooms. They create some unique angles that are very charming. The wide hallway and staircase are very nice and I did not realize that the ceilings are 14 feet high which makes sense for homes in the south. I am glad you had a nice visit and have such happy memories.

Mary Lois said...

I only wish I could walk you through the house, Benjamin! You would "get" everything it exudes--nostalgia, history, charm, and the comfort of a place where people have loved living.

peanut said...

What a lovely home to hold dear in your memory, Mary Lois. I sincerely believe most people would probably envision this place as an ideal place in which to grow. I certainly do.. Thank you for sharing it wiith us.

John Anderton said...

Splendid house! What the Gulf Coast *ought* to be!! A wonderful place to grow up! Has so much of the "feel" of the house I grew up in, in Jacksonville, Florida - even though our house was a 1961 modernist house. It was surrounded by Live Oak Trees with Spanish moss and palmettos...on a tidal marsh...

What a happy thing that your house passed to people who love it and appreciate it - they'll make their own memories there and the cycle will continue! I really like the simplicity of the interior as it is now... suits the house perfectly. Thanks so much for posting!

Mary Lois said...

It's a part of me.

Nan said...

How very nice that you could visit, and that it is still being loved. Great entrance.

Mary Lois said...

I wish I could show all the commenters around the house--but alas, it's not mine any more.