Great story! Reminds me of my 100-year-old four-story tear-down rowhouse that I ripped the inside out of and rebuilt, while still a young single woman. I did have plumbing and a 1950s stove to start with, though.
Your story should be a made-for-tv movie, and all made sense, except:
Where is "here" in your story?
And after what many years, where?
Western Maryland and we could only trace the house back to 1789 before we ran out of deed books at the courthouse.
There were no records before “ book one”.
The area already had settlers, a fort and wagon trail “villages” by 1745 and was associated with the local iron furnace.
This area is old.
So from whenever in the 1700s to 1993.
Rats.
1990 not 93.
:-/