Adventures in Abandonment: A Forgotten Homestead

This adventure in abandonment occurred last Spring and it was a most rewarding find. It was ironic that it was discovered en route to attend a funeral. Jeannie, my other mom, her daughter Kathy and I were traveling to Warner Robins, GA when we stopped for a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant. Sitting across the street was a plain and simple home with a For Sale sign out in front of it. This is always a welcome beacon for any urban explorer, almost a license to trespass. A for sale sign gives one legitimate cause for being on the property. This is one free pass we would be taking.

As Jeannie and I left the restaurant, we decided we'd at least walk over to the house and take a look. Jeannie enjoys urban exploration too. I swear she is my mom and she swapped me for one of her daughters with my mom after I was born. The house was nothing special in terms of size or style. It was just a typical abode seen along most any roadside. However, I don't doubt it was once the pride and joy of one who once lived there. In front of the home was overgrown rose bushes. These were no doubt at one time well manicured floral creations that were a pleasure for the eye to behold. Today they are just scraggly overgrown "bushes" that exist only as a shell of their former selves.

The side porch of the home was still full of shoes where occupants once removed them to see that the rug remained as clean as possible. It was here I noticed that glass had been broken on the door. The house had been entered illegally at some point. We continued walking around to the back of the house where we found an opportunity to enter ourselves. The back door had been completely ripped off the hinges. What we saw inside was sad.

The house was still full of furniture, even though some was overturned. Mushroom shaped canisters still sat on the kitchen counter and dishes remained in the cupboards. The place was thoroughly trashed though. It appeared that squatters had taken up residence there at some point. An empty Stouffer's Lasagna box lay on the floor and other foodstuffs still adorned the pantry. The appliances were still in the kitchen too. If somebody had taken up illegal residence in this place, why trash it? This was once somebody's home and a place where a family lived. A place where meals were prepared and smells of good food once permeated throughout.

We ventured into the living room and saw the last occupant's mail scattered about the place. A calendar from 2006 hung on the wall. We decided to stop our exploration here. It was a very sad place. Not the normal wellspring of curiosities that abandoned places are. Maybe this one was too newly abandoned or too disrespected by those who were there before us. We turned to leave and were a tad startled by Kathy entering to have a look for herself. She had originally stayed behind at the restaurant.

We ventured to the backyard and saw the rusting frames of an old swing set and trampoline. Relics from a time when children enjoyed living in this home. There was also a brick barbecue pit slowing decaying away and more rosebushes that had been planted along the external garage. In the garage were some old rusting tools, a bed frame in the rafters and other assorted junk.

One can only imagine why this place was left behind and put up for sale as it was. Why was all the furniture and other things left behind? Questions about a place's history is part of urban exploration, but this house seemed to beg for answers as to why a place that once seemed so loved and cared for now seems so forgotten.