2019 Candlelight Tour of Homes

Weatherford, Texas   December 14, 201  11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tickets $15 for adults and $12 for children and seniors 65+

 

405 WEST LEE AVENUE
House Sponsor: Greene’s Florist-Hunter Homes

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 served 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 McFarland’s 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.

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.

 

602 WEST COLUMBIA STREET
House Sponsor: Rosa’s Café

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. 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. This home was built to embrace the craftsman style.  When you enter the home, you will see a Grinling Gibbons (1700s) carved wooden swag hanging on the wall. A collection of Capodimonte plates with Napoleon’s Seal of the Italian City States can be found in the entry.

The house has beautiful wood floors on the lower level. There is a lovely fireplace with a 1890-1910 mirrored mantel. The kitchen cabinets are shaker in style. The stair case is made of mahogany and has an antique newel post from the 1930s. It not only has a welcoming front porch but also a back baloney. The builder used an extensive collection of antiques architectural materials to create this home which blends beautifully in the historical district. The house lends itself to the gorgeous antique furniture found inside. Many of the piece go back to the late 1700s. 

Craftsman style popularity continues because their functionality doubles as an added sense of charm. These homes have become an irreplaceable part of history. 

LITTLE HOUSE ANTIQUES 316 DALLAS AVENUE
House Sponsor: Citizens National Bank 

According to research, this house built in 1905 by James Wilson 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 hardwood floors were installed in the early 1900s. 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 1950s. 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, dish ware, 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 stain 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 magnificent historic church has been restored; the first service was held in the sanctuary in November 2015.

PYTHIAN HOME 1825 EAST BANKHEAD DRIVE

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 GARDENS  711 WEST LEE AVENUE
Location Sponsor: Parker County Today Magazine

Chandor Gardens, 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.