My sentiments exactly, Vintagemxr. In my case I can see one, or several, men of the household, taking leave of their family to serve in the Confederate army, then several years later (if our fictional Johnny Reb survived the war), returning to this scene of desolation and disrepair. Especially if Sherman and his guys had passed anywhere close by.

It's hard to be certain, but this appears to be the same building.

Tell me that does not look like the portico on the right of the Shorpy building.

If so, then the building, improbably, lived on into the 1970s at least. (I did not see it anywhere on google streetview, though I can't believe the building would be restored somewhat, then demolished.) Google also reveals that Mercer University unloaded the building on the then rapidly declining village of Penfield in 1874 -- the results of which are, alas, evident here.

This looks almost identical to the mansion in the ghost town called Tumbleweed in the video game "Red Dead Redemption." (I looked really hard for a picture, I promise. Apparently I lack the googling skills.)

And another view of the Snopes ancestral homeplace.

Although it's sad to see the state of this once beautiful house, it's also wonderful to know that the place was photographed so well before it disappeared completely. What a love this photographer had for her subjects.

Notice that the shutters are closed on every window but one, and somebody has propped up the back porch with cross boards. Maybe a son with little money but a land title, 50 years before this picture was taken?

Creepy but fascinating. Wish we knew more about this -- when was it built, why was it abandoned and how long did it last after this photo was taken? It looks like one good kick and the whole thing would collapse. And one spark would turn that rotten wood into an inferno.

And I love that it has so many windows.

This photo has the look of an oil painting in which the artist has taken liberties with reality to create a mood. Can a camera do that?

Was it ever new?

When I see on Shorpy these sorts of photos of once grand homes, I alway imagine the scene when the homes were new. The pleased architect is shaking hands with the proud new home owner, the carpenters and other tradesmen are packing up the last of their tools and look with satisfaction on the results of their craftsmanship. How sad they would be to see how it all turned out a few decades later.

I wouldn't fancy going in there, something almost Hopperesque about it.

This is fabulous, almost looks like HDR photography.