This house was built in 1902 by W.E. and Eva Richards. Its style is transformational Victorian or in other words a Victorian farmhouse. There is a formal woman’s parlor, a separate men’s parlor, a study, dining room, kitchen and back den area.

The house hosts four bathrooms, two upstairs and two down, four upstairs bedrooms and a laundry room.

There are also four original fireplaces. The dining room has the most ornate fireplace mantle. The tile around three of the fireplaces is original. The last one needed to be replaced because of damage. The four fireplaces were originally designed to burn coal but have been converted to electric fireplaces because of their shallow depth. The house has two chimneys which serve all four fireplaces. An unusual feature of the rooms with the fireplaces is that they have closets built on either side of the fireplace. This is not standard in an older home.


508 SOUTH LAMAR STREET
House Sponsor: Jamie Bodiford - Century 21 Judge Fite Company 

Banker W. H. Eddleman built this wood framed Queen Anne house in 1887-1889. The original design featured a three-story tower with steep roof and finial. The estate consisted of out buildings, a servants’ quarters, barn and corrals. W. H. was married to Sarah Conger and they had one daughter Caroline Aurelia (Carrie) in the fall of 1877. Carrie was married to F. Hays McFarland in the home on June 29,1898.

Dry goods merchant Asa Grant purchased the house in December, 1905 for $7,000. He and his wife Susan Couts Grant lived there until their deaths in 1926. Asa and Susan did not have any children but in the 1910 census a niece Blossom (Roberta) Putnam lived in the home with them. Concerns over safety motivated the Grant family to remove the tower’s third floor and its steep roof.

 In 1931, W.S. Fant purchased the house for his daughter, Mrs. J.P. McFarland II (nee Louise Nevitt Fant) and her family. The McFarland’s remodeled the kitchen and added a bathroom and dressing room. They vastly embellished the yard with Mrs. McFarland’s roses, iris, tulips, and other plantings. The McFarlands had two children, James Porter and Louise. Ms. Louise never married and lived with her mother and took care of her in her aging years. Their daughter, Louise McFarland, resided in this stately residence until her death in 2007.

ANGEL’S NEST BED & BREAKFAST 1105 PALO PINTO STREET
Location Sponsor: Texas Bank Financial

A delightful surprise awaits the tour goer inside this Queen Anne style home which was built in 1896 for the family of C. D. Hartnett, early day banker and wholesale grocer.  A native of Ireland, the family had come to the United States in 1863.  In 1880 C.D. came to Weatherford and entered the grocery business with A.F. Starr.  From 1894-1904, he was President of the First National Bank. The wholesale grocery company is still in business as C.D. Hartnett Co., owned by his grandson, Charles Milliken, and great grandchildren.  

Located high upon a hill west of downtown Weatherford, the four-story mansion appears even greater than its 10,000 plus square feet.  The turret reaches from the first floor to the third floor.  Given the lofty location, summer breezes kept the home cool when the heat was at its worst it became known as “Denver” to the guests who were invited to escape the sweltering summers.  Keeping the home warm in the winter was the purpose of the five main fireplaces, whose mantels are believed to have been made in Italy. Dividing a portion of the twenty-nine rooms are four sets of ten-foot-tall pocket doors.  Several balconies reach out of the home offering multi-directional and spectacular views of Parker County.  A wine and root cellar can be reached by a stairway off the pantry.  Stained glass windows offer a kaleidoscope of light into many rooms. It is situated on three and one-half landscaped park-like acres. This beautiful home is now the Angels Nest B&B a place you can stay for the night and hear stories of the Guests Who Never Left.


TULL HOUSE  602 WEST COLUMBIA STREET
House Sponsor: Rosa’s Cafe

The credit for this beautiful style of architecture goes to a late nineteenth-century British social movement. Around the turn of the century, this movement made its way to America.  Stickley who designed in the Arts & Crafts style, had the intention of making serious architecture accessible to the masses. This style of house became in fashion in 1896-1906. The house on tour is a reproduction of this important transitional style. It was built in 2015 by Bill Crowder who is well known in the Weatherford area for restoring historic homes and building reproductions of historical homes.

A Craftsman home includes some common identifying features, yet each one has unique details, making the home more functional for its owners. The beauty of these bungalows was in their simplicity. Craftsman homes were meant for the working man. While Victorian homes—led with aesthetics, Stickley sought to create a design that put function first. Craftsman bungalows are relatively modest. They’re small and easy to care for, which made their design particularly attractive to hardworking homeowners. Their popularity continues because their functionality doubles as an added sense of charm. Most original bungalows were built by their owners, meaning that no two are exactly alike. They feature unique details that are impossible to commission these days. These homes have become an irreplaceable part of history. You can identify these homes by the following features. They will have low-pitched rooflines, usually done in a hip or gable (triangular) style, wide, overhanging eaves, a covered front porch, pillars lining the entry and single, protruding dormer. 

LITTLE HOUSE ANTIQUES 316 DALLAS AVENUE
House Sponsor: Citizens National Bank 
 
This house built in 1905 by James Wilson according to research is an example of a bungalow. A bungalow home is usually one story with a wood, brick or stone exterior. It typically lacks the ornamental style of its architectural cousin, the Craftsman. These homes can feature a stone chimney, low-profile roof and a covered front porch with a side entrance. The bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are usually laid around a central living space. The material used for the bungalow’s exterior suggested warmth and informality. Clapboard was the most common siding with the wood usually stained or painted a natural shade of brown. The roofs were low shed. A front porch was a quintessential part of the bungalow design. The original design had two front doors.

The outside of the home has remained intact.  The windows are original and most of the hardware floors were installed in the early 1900’s. The kitchen has unique, original wooden cabinets which were painted green. The house had two bedrooms and a small bathroom. Visitors entered the parlor through the second front door.

According to Willa (Webster) Pitchford, her father bought the house in the late 1950’s. Mr. H.F. Webster was a baker who baked the wedding cake in the movie Giant. He was a baker at Ferdig’s Bakery which was located at 320 Palo Pinto. The house now has been updated and is a unique antique shop.  The Little House Antiques owned by Donna Morgan has many primitive items which are utilitarian: furniture, dishware, tools and cooking items.  Find unusual gift items here which can be purchased.

WEATHERFORD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 204 S. MAIN STREET
Location Sponsor: Remax Trinity

The present church lot was purchased in 1895. The price for the lot was $3,500.  L.B. Volk was selected as the architect. The church which is made of Parker County sandstone was erected. The inside of the church has beautiful stained glass windows and a very unique tin ceiling. Construction was completed in 1896. The building cost $8,000 and is regarded as probably the best Church building for the money to be found in the state. The church was paid for and dedicated in 1908 and was named the Weatherford Presbyterian Church, U.S.   The name has changed several times over the years but has always remained a Presbyterian church. The current Education Building was completed in 1949. 

In 1945 lightning struck the tall cupola for the second time. It was at that time the damaged tower was lowered then replaced by the present-day cupola. The building sat vacant for several years since the 1970s and by God’s immense grace and providence the name of the church is now Weatherford Presbyterian Church, PCA.  This this magnificent historic church has been restored; the first service was held in the sanctuary in November 2015.

316 SOUTH LAMAR STREET
House Sponsor: Recaptured Charm

Weatherford banker W.S. Fant built this Greek Revival style house in 1890, attempting to duplicate the architectural style found in his native state of South Carolina.

It features a raised front porch on the East and South with balanced columns. The house retains its original 12 ft. beaded ceilings, wainscoting, and hardwood floors.  The house had been vacant and neglected for 25 years when the first restoration began. 

The House was sold in 1893 to John Whitlow. The house remained mostly vacant after Mary Whitlow’s departure. In 1985, Robert Gage bought the house and added the upstairs.

In January 2008, the house caught fire and was severely damaged.  However, the home was purchased and restored and once again stands proudly among its historic neighbors along Lamar Street. 

902 SOUTH WACO STREET
House Sponsor: PlainsCapital Bank

This house was built by William T. Ivy and his wife Emma Nash Ivy when they moved to Weatherford from Louisiana. This beautiful home was built in 1889. The Ivy’s lived together in this home with their three children until their deaths in 1915 and 1916. Mr. Ivy had been in the mercantile business and had acquired extensive farm property before his move to Texas. Mr. Ivy was one of the original owners of the Carter Ivy Hardware. The building still stands on North Main Street.

The house was designed as a colonial style home with columns and a wrapped around porch on a corner lot. The most obvious attribute of a colonial home is its symmetry. Colonial-style homes normally have a square or rectangle shape, with the door located in the exact center and the same number of windows reflected perfectly on either side. When you enter the house with an original front door with a transom you will be in the updated living area. The house has been updated but many original features remain. The house has massive rooms with the original hardwood floors which have been recently refinished. There are large windows and crown molding throughout the home.

There is a second door on the side of the porch which leads to the original parlor. There is a beautiful fireplace with peach colored tile and an oak mantel.

The house has been remodeled over the last 140 years and the kitchen brings in a modern twist.

PARKER COUNTRY COURT HOUSE ON THE SQUARE
Location Sponsor: Alamo Title
 
The Parker County Courthouse is the fourth such building to serve the citizens of Parker County the first was a wooden building of rough undress pine brought from Red River County. The 18 x 31 building was built in 1856 and was located on the north side of the Square. The 2nd Court house built in 1856 was made of brick fired in Weatherford. An all-night dance celebrated its completion. Early on May 13, 1874, the courthouse burned consuming all deeds, wills, probated and marriage records. Arson was determined the cause but no charges were ever filed. Local buildings were used as the courthouse until completion of the third Official Courthouse in 1879. It too burned on March 1, 1884 under questionable circumstances but most records are retrieved.

The fourth and current courthouse was dedicated in 1886 at a cost of $55,555.55. The French Second Empire building was created with limestone quarried from Parker County. The three stone limestone building is visually divided into five bays; the end and central bays are projecting and feature stone pilasters at their corners. The second-story windows are tall and arched and the roofline features bracketing around the eaves. The red shingle roof has two mansards atop the ends and a three-story tower in the center. Each piece features dormers and widow’s walk and the tower has louvers. A clock was placed on its upper story. The Seth Thomas clock was installed in 1897 at a cost of $975. In 1964 the courthouse was awarded it to Texas historical marker.

PYTHIAN HOME 1825 EAST BANKHEAD DRIVE
Location Sponsor: Kimberly Benge Photography

The Knights of Pythias begin construction of this unique Spanish style structure in 1907. The doors opened March 1, 1909, as a residence for widows and orphans. The Pythian home was self-sustaining with housing gardens, a dairy, orchard and livestock on its 164-acre lot which allowed the home to provide trade learning opportunities for its residence. The home also housed a school until the 1970s. It originally served students from all over Parker County. The home no longer serves widows and orphans but does provide temporary out of the home placement for children from families in need. The Pythian home also has a unique gift shop open to the public- don’t miss this.

CHANDOR GARDEN  711 WEST LEE
Location Sponsor:  Parker County Today Magazine

Chandor Garden, a five-acre estate, was the home and studio of English born portrait painter Douglas Chandor and his wife Ina. Born in 1897 and trained at the Slade school in London, Chandor came to the United States in 1926. He continued a successful career as a portrait painter for wealthy financiers, industrialists, politicians, educators and other prominent people.

DOSS HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CENTER 1400 TEXAS DRIVE

Parker County‘s rich tapestry of cattle barons and Cowboys, Broadway stars, and political leaders is showcased in state-of-the-art exhibit spaces.  The Doss Center opened in 2006. The 23,00 square foot center is available for the world to enjoy the rich history and culture of the area.

On exhibition at the Doss is The Life and Times of Texas Icon, Charles Goodnight by Artist Lee Cable sponsored by the Susan Kathleen Black Foundation. The exhibition includes twelve original oil paints and twelve preliminary sketches, is an exploration of colorful Texas history of one of the icon characters of the Trail Driving era that is so rooted in Parker County history. 

In addition, the Doss will have activities for children and families at Heritage Christmas from 10 a.m. -5 p.m. and Pioneer Cabin Park will be open to the public (weather permitting) allowing guests to get a sneak peak at the log cabins being restored at the museum. 


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