105-Year-Old Artifact Found Under Floorboards in Hudson Valley

A little piece of history has been hiding under a Hudson Valley homeowners' floor for over 100 years.

Steve Goodrich recently decided to renovate his bathroom. The historic home that he lives in was purchased back in 1999. According to his son, Jesse, the Goodriches are the third or fourth owners of the house that was built in the Beacon area in 1914.

While ripping apart the floorboards, Goodrich made some amazing discoveries. Under the floor were razor blades discarded clothes and another very curious find. It was common practice for used razor blades to be deposited into a slot in the wall when men were finished shaving their faces. The razors would just pile up behind the wall and are found during renovation projects all the time.

Back in 1914, there weren't as many building codes as there are today. Therefore, builders would use found items to serve as insulation. This most likely explains the discarded clothes discovered under the floor. Goodrich was also surprised to find a bunch of balled-up newspapers between the joists. The paper was so old that most of it just crumbled away when touched. One paper, however, remained intact and was able to be recovered.

The paper is an amazing look back in time.

Goodrich was shocked to see the date on the paper. He was holding in his hands a copy of The Evening Journal that was printed over 100 years ago in 1916. The paper was still legible and held as a fascinating peek into the past.

A chilling article about a local scarlet fever outbreak shows that things really haven't changed much in the past century. The article explains that "the time is here when something should be done to check the spread of the epidemic." Sound familiar?

Another article shares a story about Charles Hughes, who was arrested in the west end of Beacon for drunken and disorderly behavior. His punishment was that he leave town and never return.

Ads can also be seen throughout the paper from local businesses including a dentist in Newburgh and a florist in Beacon.

Thomas Edison made the local news when his phenol plant in New Jersey burst into flames.

A $100 reward was being offered to readers who purchased Hall's Catarrh Cure and could prove that it failed to cure them. Seems legit.

In fact, the paper was full of many health aids and cures. Today, these crazy newspaper ads have been replaced with television drug commercials, only those advertisements must list all of the possibly deadly side effects by law.

Several live wires were also discovered in the same space as the dry, old newspapers. Goodrich should consider himself lucky that the that tragedy never stuck his home, considering he had a major fire hazard right under his feet for all of these years.

Goodrich says that many people have suggested he donate the paper to the local historical society, an idea that he says he will most likely pursue.

It turns out that this wasn't the first time something extremely rare and valuable was found behind the walls of an old, New York home.