Outdoor Wednesday - 4/22 - A House fascination

It's that fun time of the week when we head outside to take pictures of our surroundings! That means it is Outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

I've showed so many pics of the house recently that I thought I would take you somewhere else. As you know, Mr. Dumpling and I love to take "excursions". We ride, look at landscaping, throw in a little antiquing and call it a good day!

There is a house in East Texas that has long fascinated me...almost an obsession. When I first spied the house, two elderly sisters were living in the home. It needed work at that point but was still lovely. I would have Mr. Dumpling park across the street and just let me stare at it. I'm not saying this is normal...I'm just saying...

This is the house at the original location before being moved.



And a brief history written by Bob Bowman:

"In 1908, as Sallie Pratt's house was being completed a block from downtown Hemphill, she "prayed a hedge" around the imposing structure and asked God to safeguard her home from man's destruction -- much in the Biblical fashion of Job 1:10.

Today, more than a few Hemphill townspeople are convinced Sallie's prayers 95 years ago have protected her house from the wrecker's ball and will lead to its eventual restoration.

Sallie's home was built for her by husband, George Edward Pratt, who had followed his father's footsteps in the general mercantile business at Hemphill and Bronson. The house was furnished by quality furniture shipped to Hemphill. Sallie's bed was so elegant that it was reportedly used in a scene from the film, "Gone With the Wind."

Sallie's religious faith earned her a reputation as a healer and her skills were sought by people throughout East Texas."


Fate worked against the house. The sisters passed away and a male relative was left in the house. He was quite an original and loved to march in parades (uninvited) in his boots, shorts and twirling a baton. He called himself a "Global Twirler". Highly intelligent...but a little different. He used one room of the THREE story house to live in. Here he is:



A auctioneer friend of ours was contacted to auction the contents. He was admitted into the house (which was a RARE honor). He said the house was covered in antique treasures...walls, cabinets, stacked on the floor...and oak everywhere. The house had double staircases!

Well, by this point, I was gasping in delight I tell you!

To shorten the story, the auction never happened. Distant relatives came in and swooped things up (so I heard) and the house was left empty.

Some in town wanted it torn down. I made a few calls to see if the house was for sale. I just knew I could get it across the LA line and on our land. I told you...I loved this house! In the end, the local church bought it and had it moved to make way for a parking lot...where it is still empty.

Here's the house today:








Yes, I have peeked in the windows. I have sat on the porch. I have pretended it was mine and how I would restore it.

Is that obsessed? I would rather think I have an excellent imagination and a love of old things. I want to save them, restore them and treasure them.

Boudreaux just demanded to be in this post. You know how he is!