Community Corner

The Guilty Pleasures of a Modern Day Pirate

Being a treasure hunter in 2013 means you get to partake in a guilty pleasure when you go on expeditions.

I'm not talking about a pirate in the traditional sense. I'm talking about a curious, treasure-seeking person who uses a GPS instead of maps on paper and takes over attics instead of ships.

If you're not acquainted with Greg Van Antwerp, our resident Urban Archeologist, then you should be. He takes us on his treasure hunting expeditions via his blog on Brookfield Patch: "The Urban Archeologist."

His latest is a foray into a Bethel home that's rich with history. 

"One of the guilty pleasures of Urban Archeology is the opportunity to see inside homes I always wondered about, but never could get closer," Van Antwerp wrote in 'Run That Tory Out of Town.' "As a picker and a digger I feel that way about any property that looks older than 100 years. What I really want to know is where I can find the bottle dump out back, or the story waiting to be found in the walls or attic rafters."

And did this house ever tell a story. It involves a barn, a Tory, a bed and breakfast that closed in 1900 and old newspapers embedded in the walls from World War II.

David Karraker, the owner of the home, shared the 200-plus year history of the home. Click here to read more and see the video. 


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