The Matthias Spencer House

Abstract

Studying local history can be one of the most challenging types of research. There are always more sources that can be consulted and different versions of the story to examine. New sources are found in an attic which overturn the “truth” as it has been “known” for years. The notion that “we know all we’ll ever know” about any topic regarding the past is clearly erroneous. The road gets steeper and rockier the farther back in time one travels. This is certainly true when trying to figure out when a house in Erie County was built.