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We’re in the process of buying a frame house that’s detatched on both sides. On on side, there is around 16-20 feet between my new house and the next, and this is split equally between my house and the neighbor- and fenced that way. Property Shark shows the lot as 28′ wide which agrees with the current layout.

I just got the tax photo back from the municial records building so I could take a look for renovations, and to my surprise, in 1939 or so, the 16 foot side lot was totally part of my property, and it had on it a little sister building in the same style, with a shared stoop to mine. Maybe the original builder laid it out that way for family reasons, or for an investment? It’s an amazing picture because the little house is like a dollhouse version of the bigger house that’s still there.

So here’s my question- how can I find out how and when the lot boundaries changed? Presumably at some point, the little building came down, and the two neighbors did something to break up the lot? Or the city did something? It clearly happened between 1940 and 2008- but I’m wondering if anyone out there has done similar research on their own lot?