The history of a old house?

Is there any other way that i can find out the history of a house besides the county courthouse. I believe that something traumatic happened. The house was abandon for about 20 years and had about 50 different owners. The house has a main basement and then there is another basement where the floor lifts up which is tunnel like small and has small shelves on both sides. If anyone has heard of a basement or can tell me anything about what they think or how to look up the history of a house, i would be grateful.