A Michigan homeowner has uncovered a letter dating back to 1886, still in its original envelope, hidden behind a baseboard during renovations. Erik Erhorn, Crockery Township Supervisor in Nunica, was working on his 1879-built home with his brother Tyler when they made the discovery.
The letter, written by Charles V. Warren on August 3, 1886, is addressed to Mr. Medad Spencer, a New York native who later moved to Nunica. Warren urged Spencer to consider purchasing a 160-acre parcel of land in Hart, Michigan, describing its 'good tillage,' streams, and timber suitable for rail and building, as well as 'small brooks running with trout.'
Family records indicate Spencer lived on the property until his death in 1919. Erhorn purchased the home in 2017 from a widow whose family had bought the land from Erhorn's great-grandfather in the early 1940s, who had himself acquired it from the Spencer family.
Alongside the letter, Erhorn found an old leather belt under carpet and a promotional brochure for a washboard, a 19th-century laundry tool. The letter survived the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and two world wars, offering a glimpse into life over a century ago. Erhorn has yet to decide what to do with the historic find.
