This Homeowner Discovered a 1940s Shuffleboard Court Underneath Their Carpet
On Sept. 29, a member of the Our Old House Facebook group uploaded a now-viral post of a secret shuffleboard that was hidden under the carpet of their 1860s-era house. After seeing this, don’t be surprised if you want to tear up the wall-to-wall carpeting in your own old house to see what’s underneath.
“Hi, guys! We found an old shuffleboard court under the carpet in the [primary] bedroom,” Facebook user Sandy Jobse wrote in the post. “Must have been an old game room. We believe this portion of the house was added on in the ’40s. Original house is 1866.”
Shuffleboard, which dates back to 15th century England, is a billiards game of strategy where players aim to push their pucks using shuffleboard cues into the scoring zones in the shuffleboard triangle. Opponents can bump rival pucks out of the scoring fields and off the mat, so it’s also a game of attack and defense.
The shuffleboard in Sandy’s home appears to either be painted or inked on the hardwood floor of the 25′ x 18′ room and has been almost entirely preserved under the carpeting. It’s likely that the homeowners who installed this board would have kept the floor waxed and smooth to improve gameplay.
In the comments of Sandy’s post, another old house homeowner said they also found a vintage shuffleboard in their house, which they restored after refinishing the hardwood floors. And with so many people commenting with hopeful wishes that the shuffleboard court will be kept visible and preserved, Sandy calmed the community’s nerves by confirming that she plans on keeping it uncovered and in tact.
Hopefully, she will post more pictures when the restoration is complete.