21.10.2026 20:44
Kate and Bill Pearce, a couple renovating their historic home in the US, found an unopened 112-year-old letter in a wall cavity. Hoping to find money inside the envelope, the couple realized that the address on it belonged to the neighboring house.
Kate Pearce and her husband Bill Pearce, who live in Evanston, Illinois, USA, made an unexpected discovery during a kitchen renovation. While trying to reach the plumbing in the Queen Anne-style house built in 1899, which the couple purchased in January 2022, they encountered an old envelope inside the wall.
A DUSTY ENVELOPE CAME OUT OF THE WALL CAVITY
The envelope, found during the removal of a built-in structure, had four foreign stamps on it. The fact that the dust-covered envelope was unopened made the homeowners wonder what was inside. While Kate Pearce hoped to find some money, she came across a letter written in 1914.
FOLLOWERS DECIPHERED THE LANGUAGE OF THE LETTER
Unable to understand what language the letter was written in, the couple shared photos on their social media accounts and asked for help. When a follower recognized the writing as Swedish, the content of the letter could be understood. The letter, written by a mother living in Sweden to her daughter Else, contained news from daily life and information about health problems in the family.
THE ADDRESS BELONGED TO THE NEIGHBORING HOUSE
Examining the envelope, the couple realized that the recipient's address belonged not to their own house but to the neighboring building. This detail revealed that the letter had not been sent to the house where it was found. However, how the envelope got into the wall cavity and why it remained unopened was not definitively explained.
IT WILL BE PRESERVED WHERE IT WAS FOUND
Kate Pearce, who values the house's historical fabric, did not want to move the letter elsewhere. The couple decided to frame the letter, which had remained inside the wall for more than a century, and display it at the spot where it was found.