At the reunion last MONTH (sorry it's taken so long), I happened to be talking with Aunt Jeanette, Kenny and Gary. The subject was the Janson farm house. Did they think the original log cabin was incorporated into the brick house? Now, this often happened--as the original building got too small, people would add extra rooms like a kitchen or bedrooms, and then eventually, a basement and an upstairs. (That was true of the house we bought northwest of Royalton in 1970--since they built extensions on it, that small room became a walk-thru on the way to other rooms, but it was too main floor to be used as storage).
Aunt J and Gary said no--the house, built around 1890, was "stick built" and planned, even tho it seemed oddly laid out when we were kids. (I suppose the house was finished before they realized an indoor bathroom was desirable. Seems like it was carved out of the main floor bedroom and a closet).
Anyway, AJ mentioned an old shed that sat east of the house when she was first married..."they kept pigs in it, I think". But wow, maybe the original cabin was still there in the late 1940s?
Well, they wouldn't have taken pics of it, right? It was a shed by then--useful, and not bad enough to tear down, plus the land gently sloped away to the north right there--perfect for a pasture behind it, but not the best place for a permanent house.
Okay, it's a theory, but a sorta charming one, I think ☺
