Archeology Dig: Treasure In My Basement

 
The wife had me on task with a honey-do list this weekend.  One of my chores was to reorganize the basement space of our home.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our home, it was built in 1908 by Henry H. Hudman.  He was the Vice President of Pingree National Bank.  He was also the Treasurer for the Blackman Griffin Co. which was a produce and ag-business wholesale located at 25th St. and Ogden Ave.

An interesting feature of our homes is that we have 1000 SQFT in our basement with rock walls, 8 foot ceilings, and dirt floors.  It's been an awkward space to use since none of us like tracking dirt back up into the rest of the house.  Up until Saturday, we used it as a dumping ground for things we didn't want to see or worry about. 

While cleaning up some debris I found this card in the dirt:

It's a business card from the early 1900's.  It's fascinating to think that its been sitting there for 100 years in the dirt and is still in this great shape.  I also found a bunch of itinerary cards for train travel too.    

If you are careful and lucky, you can find some interesting historical gems in your old home.

Note:  $100,000 capital in 1908 is the same as $2.35M capital today.  It was quite a big business.