The Egg and I by Birdie: Victoria old houses

The Victoria Historical Houses Tour is really great. Here are just a few and for this part of the world they are quite old.

This is the Victoria County Courthouse made of limestone and completed in 1892. It replaced an earlier 1849 courthouse. This is one of the ten favorite courthouses in Texas. It underwent restoration in 2001 at a whopping cost of $5.6 billion - yep that is not a typo B and in billion dollars. 101 North Bridge Street

C. L. Hewitt House - Old Casino Hall, 408 West Forrest. Once part of old Casino Hall, built in the 1850's. The hall was the center of social and cultural activities of that era. The building was moved in 1875, and in 1910 was divided into three renthouses by chales L. Hewitt, a local grocer. This residenceis the only one of the three which remains.

#24. The John Donaldson. Okay, this is going to blow you away. It is a stone house. It is set on a huge block. The backyard takes up half a block square and has a huge oak tree. It is one block long and about 3/4 of a block wide.

#26. Joseph Vandenberge House 301 North Vine. This is Neoclassical Revival built in 1908. Vandenberge was an attorney and one of the founders of Victoria Bank and Trust. It sits on a corner so one front of the house has an elliptical entrance and the other an oblong entrance.

#22. Guy Mitchell House, 402 West Goodwin. It says it is Georgian Revival and built in 1914 and of special interest is a Palladian window centered above the entry.

James a McFaddin house, 207 West Commercial. The grounds of this is very large. This is the house proper. The grounds and garages take up another block.

William H. Smith House, 408 West Goodwin. He was a tutor for the John Welder children. Neoclassical Revival built in 1911. The front of the wrap around and look at that big oak tree limb.

Lander Hopkins House built in 1910 is Neoclassical Revival architecture. 202 West Power Street.

This is such a grand building. The far end is St. Mary's Catholic church. This close end is the Old Nazareth Academy, 105 West Church Street. Built to house the convent school of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, a French order. Sisters from the Lyons (France) order came to Texas in 1852 and to Victoria in 1866. What brave women they were! Today across the street is the Police Station of Victoria. (just think about all the 'happenings' behind all of those windows)

A different view of the convent school of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament.

Lorenzo Dow Heaton house, 307 South Bridge Street. This dates from 1877. Mr. Heaton, one of three brothers who operated "drug stores" (their quotes) in Indianola, Victoria and Cuero. The orginal house was remodedl circa 1945 at which time the second floor porch was removed. (What a pity!)

J. Ferdinand and Emily McFaddin McCan House, 401 N. Glass. Constructed in 1908 it is a Neoclassical Revival. The McCan clan still occupy the house. Look close because it looks a lot like the next one.

Thomas Marion O'Connor house, 303 S. Bridge Street, this was completed in 1889. T. M. died in 1920 and his wife Mary Ellen, in 1931. Their son Lawrence Wyer O'Connor remodeled to Neoclassical Revival and this home is still owned by the O'Connor clan. Looks similar to the one above.

Joseph D. Mitchell house, 301 S. Bridge Street. Completed in 1893 (Queen Anne dwelling) he was a rancher, naturalist (an entemologist and conchologist {The scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and freshwater mollusc shells as well as seashells.}) He also served in the legislature and was civic leader. Oh, yeah he served for years as a mortician. Great house, uuhh office building now.