Photos, personal stories about homes enrich residents’ lives

For some homeowners, finding the history of a home can be simple. For others, there’s work involved.

For Betty Adelman and her husband, Lynn S. Adelman, a federal judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, getting the history of the 1881 Italianate home they bought in the Town of Waterford 25 years ago was a breeze.

All they had to do was ask the sellers and they got information, documentation and photos, said Betty Adelman, who owns and operates Heritage Flower Farm on the property. She also got information from her neighbors.

“This house was built by Emogene Utter and her husband, Albert Patterson,” she said. “He was a Civil War vet. When he came back from the war, they got married. I was told that she made a rug out of his uniform. She had inherited the property from her father, and it was government land that was sold for $1.25 an acre.

“We bought the property from their grandson and his wife, Marvin and Anne Patterson, who had inherited the property.

“Soon after we bought the property, I sat down with Anne. Marvin was dead at that time and Anne was 93. She wrote out some things and told me some things. Since then, their children have given me a lot of information, too.”

Adelman said she learned the property was a farm, and that the road in front of it was originally an Indian trail.

“The trail later became a plank road. It was called Janesville Plank Road. My whole neighborhood has a lot of history. There are a lot of wonderful old houses here,” she said.