In the US, a couple found 1930s letters hidden in an old house

A family from Hartford, Alabama, who bought a house built in 1937, discovered boxes of letters and postcards nearly a century old during renovations. The find concerns the correspondence of the home's first owner and will allow the new owners to preserve the memory of its former residents.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 10 November 2026 at 04:112 min read

The key facts

The couple bought the house in Hartford, Alabama, in June 2026; the building was constructed in 1937 and belonged to the Houston family for nearly nine decades
Boxes of letters and keepsakes were found by construction workers above the heating system
Among the finds is correspondence between the first owner, George C. Houston, and his friend Bill McGuire

Boxes above the heating system

A young couple who bought a house in June 2026 in the American city of Hartford, Alabama, came across hidden boxes of letters, postcards and keepsakes during renovations. The building was constructed in 1937 and remained in the Houston family's ownership for nearly nine decades. Construction workers discovered the correspondence above the heating system, as People magazine reports, citing a Life.ru publication.

Correspondence nearly a century old

Among the finds are letters from the 1930s, including correspondence between the home's original owner, George C. Houston, and his friend Bill McGuire. Some of the messages contain everyday details, while others speak of friendship and the writers' attachment to their native places. The couple was especially touched by a letter in which McGuire asked after his friend and called Hartford a place that would always remain home; for Emily, who grew up in that city, it took on special meaning.

What the owners plan next

The new owners intend to preserve the documents: some may be framed or included in a commemorative collage with vintage postage stamps. The family is also documenting the house's restoration on social media and hopes to find other traces of the past — according to them, the renovation will take several more months. Separately, Life.ru previously reported a similar story in spirit from the United Kingdom: there, a woman found gold coins in a biscuit tin that her husband had hidden almost half a century earlier — the collection of 41 South African Krugerrands and 21 British sovereigns sold at auction for approximately £113,000 (over 12 million rubles). This is a separate case, known only from a brief mention in the same publication.