How to Discover Your House's History
Uncover your home's history using these tips and guidelines.
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Your House's History
PROPERTY DEEDS
Property deeds are found on the first floor of the Monroe County Courthouse in the Recorders Office (Room 122, phone 349-2520). These records give you the names of owners, dates of purchase, and a property description.
Deeds are recorded by grantor (seller), and by grantee (buyer) and are arranged alphabetically and by date. You can begin by looking for the last sale of the house (your own) and working backwards by grantee. Each recording refers you back to the previous sale; book and page #s. The older deed books are very large with handwritten entries, which can sometimes be difficult to read. For deeds recorded prior to 1991 (when records were transferred to computer), you will need to know the transfer date. If you do not have the transfer date, you can look it up in the Auditors office on the second floor of the Courthouse by name or address and then return to the Recorders office to request the appropriate book.
You might come across a "quit-claim" deed during your search. This deed simply transfers a piece of property with no guarantee - what you see is what you get. Mostly used for transfer of an estate, from husband to wife or from parents to a son or daughter. Also, some deeds will be a title change only, as for a loan.
BLOOMINGTON CITY DIRECTORIES
Bloomington city directories for the years 1900 through the present are found in the Indiana Room of the Monroe County Public Library (303 E. Kirkwood Ave, 349-3080). There is a book for each year. These books list the occupant of the house - Head of house and wife if it's a married man, and occupations. These are listed by street address, giving the occupant; and also by name of occupant, giving street address. They do not list children, but they do sometimes give other information, such as if this street was paved and if it had water run to it. Also, other bits about the city in that year.
SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS
Sanborn fire insurance maps can be found in the Monroe County Public Library's Indiana room or in the City of Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Development department (Showers City Hall, Suite 130 or 349-3507). These maps (for the years 1887, 1892, 1898, 1907, 1913, 1927, and 1947) show the exact footprint of the house, the out buildings, and the lot. They indicate whether the structure was a residence or a commercial building and how many stories it had.
***After you discover the origins of your house, you may want to go one step further and make it official by purchasing a Bloomington Restorations, Inc. custom printed house plaque. The plaque is printed on wood with vinyl graphics for your historic house and costs $35. More information is available by contacting Steve Wyatt, Executive Director at 336-0909 or bri@bloomingtonrestorations.org.
Property deeds are found on the first floor of the Monroe County Courthouse in the Recorders Office (Room 122, phone 349-2520). These records give you the names of owners, dates of purchase, and a property description.
Deeds are recorded by grantor (seller), and by grantee (buyer) and are arranged alphabetically and by date. You can begin by looking for the last sale of the house (your own) and working backwards by grantee. Each recording refers you back to the previous sale; book and page #s. The older deed books are very large with handwritten entries, which can sometimes be difficult to read. For deeds recorded prior to 1991 (when records were transferred to computer), you will need to know the transfer date. If you do not have the transfer date, you can look it up in the Auditors office on the second floor of the Courthouse by name or address and then return to the Recorders office to request the appropriate book.
You might come across a "quit-claim" deed during your search. This deed simply transfers a piece of property with no guarantee - what you see is what you get. Mostly used for transfer of an estate, from husband to wife or from parents to a son or daughter. Also, some deeds will be a title change only, as for a loan.
BLOOMINGTON CITY DIRECTORIES
Bloomington city directories for the years 1900 through the present are found in the Indiana Room of the Monroe County Public Library (303 E. Kirkwood Ave, 349-3080). There is a book for each year. These books list the occupant of the house - Head of house and wife if it's a married man, and occupations. These are listed by street address, giving the occupant; and also by name of occupant, giving street address. They do not list children, but they do sometimes give other information, such as if this street was paved and if it had water run to it. Also, other bits about the city in that year.
SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS
Sanborn fire insurance maps can be found in the Monroe County Public Library's Indiana room or in the City of Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Development department (Showers City Hall, Suite 130 or 349-3507). These maps (for the years 1887, 1892, 1898, 1907, 1913, 1927, and 1947) show the exact footprint of the house, the out buildings, and the lot. They indicate whether the structure was a residence or a commercial building and how many stories it had.
***After you discover the origins of your house, you may want to go one step further and make it official by purchasing a Bloomington Restorations, Inc. custom printed house plaque. The plaque is printed on wood with vinyl graphics for your historic house and costs $35. More information is available by contacting Steve Wyatt, Executive Director at 336-0909 or bri@bloomingtonrestorations.org.
