Real Estate Bloodlines: Scenes from the Secret Recorder's Vault

I went to do some historical research today at the Weber County building.  I wanted to find out who has owned my home since it was built in 1908.

My quest led me to the Weber County Recorder's Vault.  Located in an inconspicuous hallway on the 2nd floor of the Weber Center, the first thing I noticed was the security coded doorknob and a handwritten note "knock to enter".

Upon knocking, a pleasant elderly woman answers and wisks me into the room.  The room smells of old books.  As I cast my eye around the room, I see rows and rows of disproportionately large books carefully organized.  Their scale is awkward and almost cartoonish.

The clerk asks what I am looking for.  When I respond,  I am handed a note with a handful of letters in the alphabet.  She pulls out a book stamped with a letter on the cover and shows me how to read the cryptic cursive handwriting from the 1800's.  Then I am on my own.

My abstract search reveals some interesting facts about the creation of our home (look for that in a later post).  When I am done, I look at the clock. What I thought was just a few minutes was actually an hour and a half.  I am late for my next appointment...