The photograph below, probably dating from the late 1880s, shows James Rickenbach's frame house, built in 1859. The house is situated along the main road, which is just along the canal at this point. The canal can be seen in the foreground, with a man in the white shirt (very likely one of James' sons, see for example Wilson and possibly Edwin) standing in a small boat. The photograph was probably taken from the towpath on the far side of the canal, looking west across the canal to the house. The smaller two-story house to the left of the main house was built later by James, and is mentioned in the memoir as a smokehouse that later served as the home for Becky and her mother Eliza after her father had died and everyone else had moved away. The white paint on the trees was probably for pest control. See the complete version of this photograph by clicking here. You can see another photograph of a canal boat just in front of James Rickenbach's house here.

Fast-forward in time 120 years. The photograph below is from the same vantage point as the above view from the 1880s. The photo was taken in January of 2002, from the towpath (still there!), looking west across the now tree-choked canal bed to the house on the other side.

Below is how James Rickenbach's 1859 house appears as of January 2002, very much recognizable compared to how it looked in the 1880s. The facade, windows and door are all original. There are two huge twin pine trees along the path leading to the front door. Both of these trees are most likely the same trees in the photograph above from the 1880s.

This door is most likely the original front door of the house. It is handcarved, very heavy, and has the original doorknob and keyhole.

Below you can see the other pine tree along the front path, and also the side house where Becky and her mother Eliza lived probably in the early 1900s.

Below is James' house as it appeared perhaps around 1915 or so. James' granddaughter May Rickenbach ( his son Curtin's daughter) is standing at the gate (photo courtesy of Jeannette Jones Pollard).