It is possible for anyone to research their own home to see what sort of history exists there. If you live in a typical suburban housing development, you can go down to your county's planning and zoning commission office with your address and they can provide to you a book and page number for your property area which will tell you pertinent information about soil characteristics (some paranormal activity is linked to certain soils) and archaeological data that was identified before your home was built. You may also be able to contact the title company for your home and request a title search to see who owned your house or land before you. If all else fails or is unavailable to you, it is best to locate a hall of records or a historical preservation society in your area and look for historical maps of your region or simply ask about the general history of your area. It is quite difficult to accurately trace history before 1800 since many records were not accurately kept in rural areas of the US.