Galchutt House

Galchutt, its a small town located just off the Interstate and with no services available for those traveling through the area. All that exists in this little spec of a town are a few sporadic houses and a lone church. You would easily pass it by without realizing that it even existed.

From the Interstate highway I had noticed this old two-story house snuggled comfortably within a thicket of tangled trees.  I have driven on this particular stretch of Interstate a thousand plus times over the past few years and never once did I noticed this house before. Possibly it was overlooked because of the trees in conjunction with the visual distraction of an overpass in close proximity. Regardless of the whys, it is better now than never..

Its early December when I find the Galchutt House and the sun sets around 5:20ish these days. I manage to arrive just before 4PM when the sun is low and casting a strong warm glow on everything. The house is located at the end of a barely used farm road. Most of it is covered in snow. I couldn’t drive all the way up to the house so I parked in the middle where the road was somewhat clear of the snow and then quickly walked the rest of the way. It was cold.

The house looks like it has been empty for a very long time, possibly even since the 1980’s or earlier. Because I didn’t enter the house  I’m not sure exactly what it was that I saw inside, but there was what looked like an old heater in the style that echoed the 1940’s or 19 50’s. There wasn’t much else inside the house besides the building materials lying in piles. The second floor was swiss cheese. Several boards were missing, giving a clear view outside the front upper level window from the back lower level window..

 

 

Looking inside through one of the glassless windows I saw that there was no basement to dangerously fall into, only a shallow floor space beneath the boards. The real danger would have been the house itself collapsing above me. Looking inside through the windows I could see how the building was concaving inward at the house center. It was literally falling apart at the seams like a poorly stitched jacket, but from the outside the house looked eerily peaceful. Walls were tearing apart at the corners, the effect of which provided an ‘Alice in Wonderland‘ like perspective.

The day was beautiful and the air was extremely chilly. After about 20 minutes I could barely feel my fingers and after 20 more I could hardly bend them to take photos. I figured that that would probably be a good time to leave. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and now that I know about this house I can come back for more Interior shots.. Maybe even getting a closer look at the heater.

 

Oregon Farmhouse

 

This old beauty was located somewhere along Interstate 80 in Eastern Oregon. The house looks like it was once a beautiful and well loved farm house  nestled comfortably into the side of a low hill. Its a large building with a strong presence, but not excessively large or flashy in design. The interior had a simple layout with a large wrap around inclosed porch area. Across the street exists a brand new truck stop that I am guessing was once the farm itself.

When I first saw the house the sun had already gone down, it was far too late for to take clear and decent photos. A few days later I had return just as the sun was close to disappearing past the horizon. Fortunately for me there was still enough natural light to carefully explore the building and take a few decent photos. Not as many as I had hoped for, but a few indeed.

There was evidence of local kids and homeless squatters making some use of the place. Graffiti adorned the walls and the floor was hidden under a thick layer of rubbish. Many shoes and old papers left about along with remnants of a mattress. It was easy to walk inside. Doors and windows were left wide open. I didn’t venture upstairs as the stairs was mostly rotted away. I did manage a peek into the upper level by walking up the hill, but by that time the sun was past the horizon and I wasn’t able to get the photograph.