Time: 11:15am CMT
Location: Small Town, Texas
Objective: Timecapsule Home

The day started out simply enough, with us planning a small roadtrip to a number of locations around the state. We stopped first at a small house on the side of the road, overgrown with ivy and brush. I couldn't even see it initially because it was so obscured with vegetation. We entered and the house was a step back in time.


Calendar by Anom, on Flickr

Possessions still litter the home.


Polka Dots by Anom, on Flickr


Seamstress by Anom, on Flickr


TV Kills by Anom, on Flickr

The kitchen, while dusty, was still in order. Stacked dishes and glassware wait for their owner to put them to use. But the only ones disturbing the cabinets are the birds nesting there.


Left Cabinet by Anom, on Flickr


Right Cabinet by Anom, on Flickr


Green Beans by Anom, on Flickr

Much of the house appears untouched, as if the owner just vanished one day and nobody ever returned to the house afterwards. Clothes still hang in the closet, toothbrushes remain in place. While in a beautiful state of pause, the actual house is falling apart. I put my foot through the floorboards at least once.


Brusha Brusha by Anom, on Flickr


Thrift Store by Anom, on Flickr

As far as we can gather, the last resident memories of this home were of an old woman receiving hospice care. The shower and tub were used as storage for clothes. A hospital bed sits in the living area, with a rocking chair next to it, presumably for company or a caretaker to sit.


No Showers by Anom, on Flickr


Living and Dying Room by Anom, on Flickr

Normally the write-up would end there, but the story needs a little more adrenaline than that. As we were finishing our shooting and getting ready to leave, we notice a car parked outside. We continue gathering up our gear and hope the car leaves. Instead I see a man in uniform approach the house and draw his weapon. Uniform enters gun drawn, aiming it at one of my partner's chest.
"Hands Up! Nobody move or I'll shoot!" I've never been so still. Uniform appears jumpy and I'm not about to provoke him. After a few moments of a stand off we are escorted outside, and joined by Officer Green Shirt, and the questioning begins.
No, there are no drugs on us.
Yes, we know we should not be here.
Yes, you can search our gear.
No, we are just taking pictures.
Yes, we know that is a weird hobby.
About this time Uniform (turns out to be a Game Warden) informs us that he thought one of our tripods was a shotgun and he was about to open fire. Classic Texas. As they run our licenses (clean), Officer Belt Buckle arrives. Guy looks exactly like Hank from Breaking Bad, and talks like him too: "Listen, there are people in this world. People that will hurt you. You don't know who could be in that house. Could be whites, could be blacks. Mexicans. Could even be Muslims. I don't know. Point is you need to be careful." At this point we realize they are not going to arrest us. Instead Belt Buckle gives us some tips on who to contact in another city to get permission to explore some abandonments there. Thanks Hank!
No shots fired. No arrests. No tickets. No warnings.
One hell of a story.


Time by Anom, on Flickr

I see an owl cup!!

But seriously. Freakin' Texas. Who the hell brings a shot gun to some abandoned house? Sounds like crazy shit. Sorry you went through that. At least you got off scot free.

Very cool explore. That closet looks like a vintage clothing store's wet dream. Congrats on getting out alive and continuing with our weird hobby. ;)

Wow dude beautiful location. Nice post!

Reminds me of stuff from my Granny's old house.

First of all, awesome find and awesome photos too. I love when there are calendars left behind, it seems to "prove" a real, live date. So cool.

Secondly..., that story of yours is a trip! A Game warden?? Were you on State Park property or something? And yes, I agree that is the way things are in Texas. I had a land owner pull a gun on me once. I was obviously unarmed, so he simply must have been a bad motherfucker. At least he didn't aim it at me though!

Scary shit, man. What's with your locations and their seemingly close relationship with projectile weaponry (I'm thinking about that DOJ location too...)!

Lastly, I like your "weird hobby." It enriches the lives of the rest of us weird and lovable assholes.

Oh, one last thing:
"Listen, there are people in this world. People that will hurt you. You don't know who could be in that house. Could be whites, could be blacks. Mexicans. Could even be Muslims. I don't know. Point is you need to be careful."
Did that really happen? "Could even be Muslims," seriously? Nice to know the good 'ol boys are keeping the Texas stereotype alive!

That, sir, was a GREAT start to the weekend: great pics and riveting story. I too have had my tripod mistaken for a rifle, but luckily all the property owner did was put his truck in reverse and yell at me because he thought I was hunting on his land.

the "could even be muslims" for whatever reason has me laughing

Excellent story and location! I almost felt like i was there while reading it! The "could even be Muslims" bit had me laughing, sound like a very Texas thing to say.

Beautiful house, I'm not usually one for small abandoned houses but that really is gorgeous. I too have a thing for old calendars, any idea what year it was from?

The gun-wielding ending kind of makes me glad I live where I do though!

I do hate looking down the business end of a gun.

good stuff!

i LIVE in Texas and i am SURE everything Anoms said is what the gun wielding shirts said, lol.
One time, a man pointed a rifle in my face and said YOU HAVE 5 minutes!!!

The story and pics are splendid.

In forty years of doing this I have never been arrested but have been told to leave. Most times I tell my story of the excitement of seeing the place photographing the bones. I let them know I never post locations or give up the place in any way. I show them my photos and most of the time they understand and in many cases they ask me to come back and take them through their buildings since they are worried of the safety. So my thing be polite, tell the truth, no drugs, and no theft. Most people worry more your there to rob their valuables or scrap out the place and if all you have is a camera flashlights your point is clear. I have had a few guns pointed at me but only by cop wannabes.

Posted by Misunderstood i LIVE in Texas and i am SURE everything Anoms said is what the gun wielding shirts said, lol. One time, a man pointed a rifle in my face and said YOU HAVE 5 minutes!!! The story and pics are splendid.

Well, so much for "Texas Hospitality."

Posted by Dee Ashley Secondly..., that story of yours is a trip! A Game warden?? Were you on State Park property or something?

No. Hahaha. Random house on the side of the road in a SUPER small town. You know, like the judge is also the doctor, the sheriff is also the jailer, that sort of town.

Posted by Dee Ashley "Listen, there are people in this world. People that will hurt you. You don't know who could be in that house. Could be whites, could be blacks. Mexicans. Could even be Muslims. I don't know. Point is you need to be careful." Did that really happen? "Could even be Muslims," seriously? Nice to know the good 'ol boys are keeping the Texas stereotype alive!

Absolutely serious! Welcome to Southern Texas. ;)

Thank you everyone! This could have ended up a lot worse. Moral of the story is no sudden movements and follow instructions. Obviously it helps to not take anything, have no alcohol or drugs on your person, and have no outstanding warrants. It's totally laughable now, but it had us shaking a little at the time. Oh, also do not wear a turban exploring in small town Texas, or else they will accuse you of working with ISIS.

Posted by mookster Beautiful house, I'm not usually one for small abandoned houses but that really is gorgeous. I too have a thing for old calendars, any idea what year it was from? The gun-wielding ending kind of makes me glad I live where I do though!

So, I actually snapped that picture figuring the date would listed. Unfortunately I'm just as stumped as you, and I'm not about to go back, so we will all have to use our imaginations. I do wish trespassing laws were more lenient here.

Posted by cdevon I do hate looking down the business end of a gun.

Me too. It looked like a damn cannon.

Posted by Dee Ashley Well, so much for "Texas Hospitality."

Well, they did end up giving us tips on who to contact for future explorations, so they weren't all bad.

Well, it appears time froze in 1986. Tiffers took a picture of another calendar from this home on a previous expedition.

https://flic.kr/p/mXgDyS

Posted by IndoAnomaly Well, it appears time froze in 1986. Tiffers took a picture of another calendar from this home on a previous expedition. https://flic.kr/p/mXgDyS

IIRC, there were multiple calendars in the house. It was weird. Let me look through my unprocessed ones, because I want to say there was a '95? Or perhaps I'm thinking of a different house.

Posted by tiffers IIRC, there were multiple calendars in the house. It was weird. Let me look through my unprocessed ones, because I want to say there was a '95? Or perhaps I'm thinking of a different house.

Looks like '95 on the first picture of the thread here.

He's so right. I can't tell you how many times I've been having a perfectly good time exploring an abandonment and then BAM... Muslims.

Posted by SouthPaw Looks like '95 on the first picture of the thread here.

I was looking at the photo of the calendar and realized that all some has to do is deduce what year those moon phases and/or holidays fell on and there is your year. Sadly, I am not a motivated enough individual to actually do such a thing.

* Oh yeah, I think I had the "sheriff department vs. city cop" discussion on the FB page with a couple of y'all. Shared jurisdiction probably somehow applies to small town game wardens too. Good call on the following instructions part, I think you made the right choice!