From the road, the house barely announces itself. The featured photograph shows a bungalow almost swallowed by trees and bushes, with only a stone gatepost, a low wall and a wet road to mark where the garden starts. It is the kind of photograph that makes the inside surprising, because the inside is not empty at all. The Luke2Explore post that photographed it says this was once the home of the Butters family, that the family were fans of music, and that an organ and music accessories were left behind.
The post also gives a short, dated spine for the story, and it is worth laying it out plainly because it is the only timeline the evidence supports:
- 2021–2022: the bungalow was left abandoned, according to the post.
- 2024: the poster explored it, and found decay already showing but the house still fairly recent in its abandonment.
- At the time of the explore: the local council owned the property, with a possession notice on the door, according to the post.
Nothing after 2024 is stated. The poster expresses a hope that something has since been sorted out with the bungalow. That is a hope, not an update, and this article does not turn it into one. No current owner, sale status or future use is claimed here.
A music room, not a music collection
The second photograph is the one that gives the house its character: a multi-keyboard organ, with speakers, a hi-fi unit and books arranged around it. The following photographs widen the picture — a cabinet of vinyl records with a cassette case on the floor, a television and record player on a bookcase, and a living and dining room with an oval table, family photographs, a chandelier and an arched window.
It would be easy to call this a collection. The photographs suggest something more ordinary and more interesting: a household where music was part of daily life, not displayed but used. An organ with accessories around it, records in a cabinet, a player on a bookcase — these are the furnishings of people who listened, not of people who curated. That distinction matters, because it is also why the loss reads as sad rather than spectacular. What was left behind was not a treasure hoard. It was the equipment of evenings at home.
Overgrowth as a clock, and its limits
Outside, the overgrowth does the dating work that the inside cannot. When a garden closes over a bungalow to the point where the house is hard to see from the road, years have passed, not months. That fits the post’s 2021–2022 abandonment window and the 2024 explore. But overgrowth is a rough clock. It does not say which year the last person left, which winter did the most damage, or what the council’s possession notice means for the building’s future. The post does not say those things either, and neither does this article.
One point does need stating carefully. The post says the council now owns the property. That is the post’s account at the time of the explore, and it is reported here in those terms. It is not a title search, and it is not legal advice about who owns what today. Anyone with a real interest in a property in this position would need county or local records and a local professional, not a photograph of a notice on a door.
For the other end of the scale — a lived-in older home with a price and a listing rather than a notice — see this 1902 home in Alexandria, Minnesota.
FAQ
Who lived in the bungalow?
The Butters family, according to the post. No individual biographical details are given in the post or here.
When was it abandoned?
Between 2021 and 2022, according to the post. No exact date is given.
What music items were left behind?
An organ and music accessories, plus vinyl records, a hi-fi unit and a record player, according to the post and the photographs shown here.
Who owns it now?
The post says the local council owned it at the time of the 2024 explore, with a possession notice on the door. No later ownership information is given.
Is it for sale?
Not stated in the post. No sale information is claimed here.
Can I visit it?
No visiting information is given here, and entering private property without permission is not encouraged.
Disclaimer
This article is general information only, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules on abandoned and private property differ by state and county; check county/local records and a local professional before acting.
Photos
Photos by Luke2Explore, via the original Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/Luke2Explore/posts/1291152759717076/ — 5 of the 27 photos are shown here.
