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Historic Homes of Georgetown Texas on University Avenue

                                  

     circa 1895

 
click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view
C.C. Cody House - 1895
304 East University Avenue
 

This home was built for Dr Cody (some times call the "Grand Old Man") and Mrs. Martha Cody. Dr Cody was a long time professor at Southwestern for 37 years - he stared out as a mathematics professor and later became Southwestern Collage's first dean. 

Marker text
Georgia native Claude Carr Cody (1854-1923) worked at Southwestern University for 37 years, serving as a mathematics professor and university administrator. He was known as the "Grand Old Man of Southwestern." He wed Martha "Mattie" Hughes in 1883, and her father, judge and legislator Thomas P. Hughes, gave them this lot, adjacent to one he had given to another daughter, Lonetta Booty. The Codys completed their home by 1897. The Free Classic Queen Anne house features Doric columns, an octagonal corner bay and a distinctive oval window. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2005

 

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

 

a special thanks to
The Williamson County Sun
and Andrew McLemore for
this slice of history article
"A Grand Old House"

view PDF

         

circa 1889

photo as of 6-11-03
click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view

Gus A. Booty House - 1889
308 East University Avenue

side view photo

This beautiful home was lost to a fire
but has now been rebuilt

10-1-10

 

This home was originally built as Queen Anne frame house was then remodeled by the Booty's. This home was re-styled in the Neoclassical Revival architecture. Note the turned balustrade, finely toothed/notched frieze, 2 story columns. Mr Booty was a successful merchant and realtor and was involved in the founding of the Texas Fuel Company which was later renamed Texaco.
 

    
circa 1886


click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view
409 East University Ave.
George Irvine House
side view photo

George Irvine House. Two-story wood-frame dwelling with T plan; exterior walls with weather-board siding; intersecting gable roof with composition shingles; box eaves; jig-sawn bargeboards and carved brackets; front elevation faces south; interior brick chimney; wood-sash double-hung windows with 2/2 lights; two, single-door entrances; one-bay porch with shed roof on south elevation; brick supports. Other noteworthy features include three-sided one-story window bay on east elevation; broad frieze with jig-sawn base; paired, compound brackets; paired windows in second story above window bay with decorative trim above windows; similar detailing on second floor of projecting ell on south elevation; molded window facings throughout; primary entrance on south elevation with transom; one-story addition on west and north elevation; one-story wing to west is, according to current owners, the original (pre-1886) house; lot overgrown.

Primary area of significance: architecture and association with a prominent individual. A good example of a late nineteenth-century dwelling in Georgetown. Retains much of its 1886 appearance and character. Built by lumberman George Irvine, a Scottish immigrant, for his own residence. George and Tom Irvine were owners and operators of the Irvine Brothers Lumber Co. in the early 1880s. It was the first planing mill in Georgetown. When his brother died in 1885, George Irvine operated the business until 1892, when he sold it to Moses Harrell and Charles S. Belford. The company eventually became Belford Lumber Co.
 

George Irvine House - Historical Marker Text
Scottish native George Irvine (1841-1936) built this two-story frame home for his family in 1886. The founder of the Irvine Brothers Lumber Co. (later the Belford Lumber Co.), Irvine was a civic leader who served on the school board, the city council, and the vestry of Grace Episcopal Church. In 1922 he sold the house to postmaster Simon J. Enochs, who made modifications to its original Italianate detailing in the 1930s.

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circa 1907


W.C. Vaden House, 1907
711
East University Ave.
 

A professor of Latin and his wife (the former Kate Lockett) were the first owners of this early 20th century "eclectic" home. Noteworthy for its asymmetrical massing and eliptical arch opening on the front gable, the structure successfully combines a variety of geometric shapes (ovals, rectangles, elipses and arches). Also distinctive is the choice of a simple, single door entrance. Note the finials and balustrade on the upper gallery with its connecting balconies.

 

Marker Text

Prominent local builder Charles S. Belford completed this home for Wesley Carrol Vaden and his wife Kate (Lockett) in 1908. Eclectic in design, the residence features Queen Anne styling with classical influences favored by Vaden, a Virginia native and a professor of Latin and Greek at Southwestern University for over 40 years. The home's notable elements include inset balconies, an oval window, elliptical arched openings, and shingled gable detailing. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1992

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811 E. University photo missing

M. B. and Annie Lockett House. 811 E. University. Two-story wood-frame dwelling with modified L plan; exterior walls with weatherboard siding; intersecting gable roof with composition shingles; box eaves; front elevation faces south; three interior brick chimneys with corbeled caps; wood-sash double-hung windows with 2/2 lights and 4/4 lights; single-door entrance with transom; one-story five-bay porch on south elevation; chamfered wood posts with molded caps; slat and jig-sawn wooden balustrade. Other noteworthy features include one-story window bay on east elevation; bay with 1/1-light inset windows; paneled base, bell-cast hip roof; and jig sawn frieze; stick bargeboard with some jig sawn details; molding on window facing. Outbuildings include a modern garage.

Primary area of significance: architecture and association with a prominent individual. A good example of a late nineteenth-century vernacular L-plan dwelling. Built for prominent merchant M.B. Lockett whose store was at 119 W. 7th (Site No. 38).

 


click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view
904 E. University Ave
A.S. Pegues House

Dr Pegues
 


click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view
J. H. Reedy House
908 East University Ave.
 

J. H. Reedy House. Two story wood-frame dwelling with asymmetrical plan; exterior walls with weatherboard siding; hip roof with gables with composition shingles; box eaves; front elevation faces north; interior brick chimney with corbeled cap; wood sash double-hung windows with 1/1 lights; single-door entrance with transom and sidelights; one-story eight-bay porch with hip roof wraps around north, east, and west elevations; Doric columns; turned wood balustrade. Other noteworthy features include oval art-glass window on the north elevation. Outbuildings include frame one-story garage.

Primary area of significance: architecture. An example of late Victorian architecture. Also was Kappa Sigma Fraternity from 1913 to 1938. Built for J. H. Reedy, a chemistry professor at Southwestern University.

 

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John J. Dimmitt House
Historical Marker
Georgetown, Williamson County Texas
1866

921 W. University

W. University (TX 29) 0.1 mi. W of bridge
The House faces south along West University (Hwy) 29 and is set back
from the highway approximately 500 feet and hard to see from the road.


 

click on photo for an enlarged view
aerial view

 

 

GPS Coordinates
Latitude 30.6346 - Longitude -97.6867
UTM 14 R - Easting: 625885 - Northing: 3389653

 

 


Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

 

 

Marker Text
Built in 1866 by John Jones Dimmitt; of native limestone hauled by ox-drawn wagons. Home of prominent citizens in Georgetown over 100 years. Dimmitt -- a surveyor, lawyer, mathematician, linguist, one time county attorney, and partner in building of Georgetown Railroad -- was civic leader; instrumental in getting Southwestern University moved to Georgetown. Preserved since 1948 by Dr. and Mrs. R.W. Gamble. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

 

 

The John J. Dimmitt House is a 1-1/2 story stone dwelling facing south along West University (Hwy 29) in Georgetown, Texas. The center-passage dwelling is built of cut-ashlar limestone and covered fin a large side-gabled roof with projecting gable over the principal entry Double wooden doors provide entry at the center of the house. Wooden 6/6 windows flank the doorway and form an A-A-A-BB-A-A-A arrangement. Mature live oaks surround the house with small shrubbery adjacent to the stone foundation. A 1-story garage is at the northwest corner of the house and is Noncontributing.

 

The John J. Dimmitt House faces south along West University (Hwy) 29 in Georgetown, Texas. Although set back from the highway approximately 500 feet, the house is largely visible from the road and sits on a rise of live oaks immediately west of the San Gabriel River. Approximately six acres of undeveloped land surrounds the house. Immediately west of the undeveloped land, however, is a shopping center built in the early l990s.

The Dimmitt House is a 1-1/2 story center-passage dwelling built of cut ashier limestone. Resting on a stone foundation, the house is covered by a large side-gabled roof of wood shingles. Box eaves with jig-sawn brackets connect the expansive roof to the stone. A large gable-front portico with window extends from the center of the house and rests on four square wooden posts set on a concrete porch. This alteration dates to 1948. Gable end interior chimneys rise above the roof-line and end in corbeled caps. A metal cresting runs along the ridgeline of the roof adding a Late Victorian element.

 

The principal (south) facade forms an A-A-A-BB-A-A-A arrangement. All windows are 6/6 wooden double-hung with screens. Double wooden doors with screens are centered on the facade.

 

A Noncontributing 1-story garage is northwest of the dwelling.

 

The John J. Dimmitt House (ca. 1870) is an good example of late 19th century vernacular architecture and the home of one of the community's leading citizens. The center-passage house is constructed of local ashlar-cut limestone but built in a traditional form. It is one of Georgetown's earliest buildings in this form and associated with the multiple listing: Historic Resources of Georgetown, Texas (NR 1986). :Dimmitt was active in the early social and economic development of Georgetown. Thus, the house is nominated under Criterion B for its association with John Dimmitt in the areas of Commerce and Social/Humanitarian at the local level of significance.

John J. Dimmitt came to Georgetown in 1859, but returned to his native Missouri in 1861. In 1864 Dimmitt again moved to Georgetown and purchased a lot near downtown. Dimmitt gradually began to buy land around Georgetown for raising livestock. In 1866, he is shown on the Williamson County tax rolls with 4,814 acres, 536 horses, and 2,911 head of cattle. Although his land holdings at times were quite large, he did not own any land in the C. Stubble field Survey until 1870. Dimmitt is listed with the Texas State Comptroller as the owner of a 10-acre tract of land in this survey in 1870 with a given value of $400. Thus, the Dimmitt House is dated as ca. 1870.

 

John J. Dimmitt became a leading citizen in Georgetown and Williamson County during the 1870s and 1880s. Local historians believe that he was a surveyor, lawyer, mathematician, linguist, and also held elected office in the county. He is believed to have been among the organizers of Georgetown College, a predecessor of Southwestern University, and to have been involved in attracting Southwestern to Georgetown. Dimmitt also became one of the Georgetown citizens invested in the Georgetown Railroad Company. Chartered in 1878, the company built a rail line to Round Rock (10 miles) for service to the International and Great Northern Q&GN) Railroad. The line was not profitable and was sold under foreclosure in 1879 to the I&ON. Although this investment was not financially successful, it is another example of Dimmitt's efforts to build Georgetown. He was also interested in the social and educational advancements in Georgetown and donated 200 acres of land behind his house to the Texas Chautauqua Assembly active in the late 19th century. The Chautauqua became a significant social organization for Georgetown and surrounding areas.

 

On May 9, 1884, John J. Dimmitt died. His wife, M.L. retained title to the property and house until 1917 when she sold it to Miff J. Ischy. In 1947, Dr. R.W. and Jean Gamble acquired the house and surrounding land. The Gambles updated the property and added the gable-front portico in 1948. In spite of these changes, the Dimmitt House retains a significant part of its integrity.

 

 

T. J. Caswell was the foreman of the Williamson County jury that returned the first guilty verdict in US history against a Ku Klux Klansman, Murry Jackson of Taylor, in 1923, for flogging and tarring a white man, sentencing him to five years in the state penitentiary, the maximum sentence allowed by law.
 

 

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