The History of Your House

Your home is old; you probably know that as you try to work on your kitchen or bang your head on low hanging steam pipes in your basement. The first homes in Pullman were built in 1881. There were successive waves of homes built from 1881-1892; your house might be “newer”, meaning it was built in the 1920s with a very few even more recent. There are several projects and resources that can help you understand more about the incredible history of the structure you live in and the generations of people who have lived in your house.

1.) Historical information about Pullman can be found at the Historic Pullman Foundation‘s and the Pullman State Historic Site‘s web presence.

2.) There are several Facebook groups that are dedicated to exploring the history of Pullman. A list can found at the Online Pullman Resources link.

3.) The Pullman Façade Legacy Project is an on-going effort to document what each historic south Pullman home looked like when it was built back in the late 1800s. To date, we have compiled architectural drawings that illustrate the original design intention for each historic home in South Pullman. You’ll also find detailed dimensioned drawings for the window, door and porch styles original to the façade of each home. For select homes, you may also find links to old photographs and/or original Beman drawings.

4.) Through a series of grants and a lot of volunteer efforts, the 1883 and 1889 city directories, the 1900-1940 decennial censuses, and other data sources of demographic data have all been digitized and linked to addresses throughout Pullman. The Pullman House History Project displays the records of more than 45,000 Pullman residents who lived in the neighborhood before 1940 and is arranged by name, address and occupation.

5.) Last but not least, your home is in a city, state, and national landmark. As such, for those buildings built by the Pullman Company, there are a number of rules and laws about what you are permitted to do to your home. The Beman Committee’s Homeowners’ Guide will help guide you. For those buildings built approximately after 1900, the City’s building statutes apply.