Any evidence that the home was built on a recycled foundation? As for the 16 columns, it can be pretty amazing to see what local "farmer-builder types" and DIYers would do back in the day. Back when you could pretty much do whatever you wanted, and not answer to any bank or code official, things were pretty entertaining. I once did some rehab to a small home that was built by a carpenter who was a city employee. All the rafters were bright white, with black lettering carefully routed into each. They said, "POLICE LINE-DO NOT CROSS". They were the all cross bars for crowd control wooden horses.
I have worked on places wired with used wire, framed with recycled wood including old porch posts, used beams, massive rough sawn stuff that was cut on-site, and other odd junk. I have found everything from old bed rails to narrow gauge railroad track used to reinforce homemade concrete and found plumbing that seemed to defy basic laws of physics.
In your case the answer to your question probably lies in an older local. Once you hear an old timer say, "Yea, ole' farmer Johnson built that place for his daughter, just after the war" you heard all you need to. Good luck.