I was sold when the realtor pulled the dining room rug to one side and lifted a heavy trapdoor. Peering through a transparent plastic cover and an iron grate, I glimpsed a water reflection about 30 feet down a stone-lined shaft.

How cool is it not only to have an 18th-century water well but to have it handily located in the dining room? So if Liz, my wife, and I get besieged by braves from either the Tutelo or Saponi tribes, we’ll be able to survive for weeks.