This 1895-home in Spokane, Washington turned out to be a time capsule. More recent owners of this property in Spokane, Washington, found relics of the past tucked beneath floorboards and behind lots of fluffy insulation in the home’s third floor attic.

Not only were there cancelled checks, printed stationary, notes, children’s books and magazines, but love letters addressed to Miss Muriel Leigh, who lived in this home with her parents, Walter and Anne, and five siblings in 1916.

Walter Leigh, a prominent Spokane citizen and an accomplished attorney, helped start several Spokane law practices and invested in area mining properties.  He was also the owner and president of the Great Northern Land Company.  The Leighs bought the house in 1899 and lived here for 21 years.

Its original owner was teamster and wholesale grocery porter, Gustaf A. Renstrom, and his wife, Anna. It was one of the first two homes erected in Booge’s Addition.

The Renstrom-Leigh House is a fine example of the Queen Anne style with strong influence from two of the style’s subtypes: Free Classic and Spindlework,” says SpokaneHistorical.org. “Free Classic elements are expressed in the home’s corbelled cornices and frieze bands while Spindlework elements are depicted as delicate embellishments found in turned posts and pendant drops.  An unusual design feature unique to the Renstrom-Leigh House is a diagonal box bay located above the wrap-around porch.”

— Information from SpokaneHistorical.org