130-Year-Old Home Reveals Secret Behind a Wall—Here's the Truth

A video capturing a surprising discovery in a 130-year-old home in Kentucky has taken the internet by storm. The clip, shared by YouTuber Sam Heine, showcases a hidden space behind one of the walls of a historic house in Clifton, Kentucky. The video, titled "This 130 year old house in Clifton has a hidden secret behind one of it's walls," has already garnered over 374,000 views since its release on April 11.

In the video, Heine, a 32-year-old realtor with Family Realty in Louisville, explains that the "secret" is actually an enclosed sleeping porch. "Believe it or not, that used to be something called an outdoor sleeping porch that was completely open to the exterior of the home," he says. "But clearly at some point someone enclosed it to add that space into the interior square footage of the home."

The video highlights a growing trend in home renovations across the United States. According to a 2024 report by Houzz, a popular home design website, median spending on home renovations increased by 60% between 2020 and 2023, rising from $15,000 to $24,000.

'Interesting Brick Window and Door Frames'

Heine, who has a passion for history, nostalgia, and before-and-after stories, came across this particular home while reviewing a listing. He mentioned that the property is currently for sale in Clifton, a neighborhood that’s becoming increasingly popular in the city. "I was walking through it and noticed the interesting brick window and door frames in the hallway," he said. "There was no mention of those details in the listing, but I spoke to a prior owner of the house, and he confirmed."

He explained that these types of architectural features often indicate that a part of the home was once outside. "Typically, when you see window frames and doorways like that inside of a home, you can assume that area was once part of the outside of the home," he said. "You see it relatively often toward the back of the house, as people enclose old back porches or build onto the back to enlarge a kitchen. It's less common to find an enclosed sleeping porch."

According to Heine, sleeping porches were a common feature in southern homes during that era. "They gave folks a breezy, shaded place to rest during the heat of the day with these narrow gaps between houses, funneling air through to naturally cool the porch and room surrounding it," he explained.

The design of a typical sleeping porch includes "two windows and a center door opening from the middle wall plus those two side doors on either end, giving porch access to all three main parts of the home," he noted in the video. "Back then, it was all about air flow, keeping each section of the house cooler during the summer."

This Clifton home was renovated to enclose the porch at some point in the last 30 years, though the exact date remains unclear. Heine suggested that the renovation might have occurred as a safety measure, given that the Clifton neighborhood was known for being rough from the 1980s through the early 2000s.

Sleeping porches, which were popular during the Victorian era, were designed to help keep homes cool. While their use declined with the advent of central air conditioning, some homes still feature them today. Heine highlighted that there are beautiful examples throughout the Deep South, particularly in New Orleans, and that such structures can be found all over the country.

Heine added that states with warmer, more humid climates tend to have the highest concentrations of sleeping porches. "It was a necessity to make homes bearable during the hot/swampy months of the year," he said.

In addition to their cooling function, Heine noted that sleeping porches also serve as beautiful outdoor spaces. "I wish we saw more of that style of home today," he said.

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