re: Anyone ever take down an older home and rebuild

It could be a close call. Is the house level and solid? Does the current floor plan work for you? Does the kitchen and baths need updating and/or replacing? Those 2 areas alone can run into many tens of thousands of dollars to renovate.

A house that old, if it has original plumbing and wiring, would also likely need some, if not all of it replaced.

And once you start opening walls on an old home there's no telling what you may find------dry rot, termite damage, mold issues etc.

Plus, is the current house laid out how you like or would you tear out walls to reconfigure and open things up to better suit your needs?

The bigger question is are you planning on doing much of the work yourself to save on labor costs or are you having someone else do the work? Sweat equity is a good thing----if you know what you're doing, if not, the labor costs add up quickly.