Constructed in the Queen Anne style in the early 1890s by my husband’s great-grandparents, this house originally was surrounded by cornfields in what was known as Cottrell’s Subdivision on the edge of South Bend, Indiana. Today, that location is within walking distance of downtown South Bend. My husband’s ancestors, who were immigrants from Germany, purchased the land but literally built the house with their own hands. At that time, the entire area was a German enclave in South Bend. Our daughter, born in 1982, was the fifth generation to live in the house.
In 1996, we moved to Georgia and sold the house to a lovely young couple who still live there and have come to cherish the house. Here’s a photo from another angle showing M., who purchased the house from us…
In the 20 years since they moved in, the purchasers have adopted five children from Ethiopia, four of whom are pictured here…
Three years ago this month we went back to South Bend for a visit along with our daughter, her husband, and grandson B. What a surprise to see the “tower” my husband had built 30 years ago for our daughter still in the back yard, complete with a child’s swing! Here grandson B. and his dad walk through the yard in front of the “tower”…
And Ben was able to play on the swing on his mom’s “tower”…
It was such a joy to see the house again and the loving family who, 20 years later, still call it home.
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Unexpected in common hours 
What a wonderful history of your family’s house. I’m glad the new owners have as much pride in their family and the house as yours did. Marvelous.
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Thanks! When we moved away, our daughter (who was 14 at the time) said that when she grew up she wanted to buy the house back! 🙂
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It is so great that the home is still being cared for! And also that your grandson got to see the house that his ancestors built and so many generations of his family lived in!
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We are very glad that the house is still being kept up. The neighborhood is changing, and I think the house is the only owner-occupied one on the street. All the other homes are rentals. Unfortunately, our grandson doesn’t remember much about the visit because he was only 3 at the time. Maybe we can go back someday!
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Congratulations! I have chosen this post to be featured in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.
https://ceenphotography.com/2016/05/31/cees-fun-foto-challenge-all-about-cities-skylines-to-street-photography/
I hope you have a great week.
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Thanks so much, Cee ! I really appreciate your added comment, too. This was a fun challenge.
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I could tell you had fun with it and your house. 😀
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Lovely.
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Thank you!
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Home is where the heart is!
This house is the proof.
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Thank you!
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I recall that house and yard as if it were my own. The hours that Bob and I spent together from the time we were ten years old until you moved to Georgia. Summers meant time on the back yard swing and pulling radishes and carrots from the garden and washing them with water from the hose. There were literally hundreds of games of croquet in the back yard over the years.
In one of my last visits to South Bend I stopped by the house and met that family and several of their children. It was a joy to see how much they enjoyed living in that house and that neighborhood. My grandparent’s house is two blocks away on LaSalle Ave; one of my cousins and my aunt live there today. The house that I grew up in stands two houses away from that house on LaSalle Ave.
Good memories of a good place to have grown up and a great house to anchor that neighborhood.
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Hello Jim! Thank you for this. I read your comments to Bob, and he was almost overcome with emotion. He does miss the house and the neighborhood (as it was when he was growing up) and the good times you both had. Hope you and yours are doing well.
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