My parents and I flew into Waco Regional Airport after
our trip to Utah. While waiting for our luggage to arrive at baggage claim, I browsed through the travel brochures. One in particular caught my eye - Historic Waco's home tour. It's something that I had never done before, and whenever I'm visiting Texas, I always try to do as many new things as I can.
One the very last day before I flew back to Bangkok, my mom and I decided to check out the home tour to learn more about Waco's local history.
Hoffmann House
We arrived at the Hoffmann House just after 10am. The Hoffmann House is the headquarters of Historic Waco, and after ringing the very cool vintage twist-style doorbell, one of the members of the historic society came to the door to greet us.
He gave us more information about the tour, which covers three of Waco's historic homes, and led us next door to the Earle-Napier-Kinnard House where we would purchase our tour tickets and begin our adventure in local history.
Earle-Napier-Kinnard House
A tour was already in progress, but we joined for the second half before being caught up by the volunteer guide at the end. Our guide was excellent! She was a retired history teacher and fellow Baylor grad who knew pretty much everything about the house and its residents.
The Earle-Napier-Kinnard House, or "E.N.K. House" as it's called, is a 19th century Greek Revival mansion located just a few blocks from Baylor's campus with strong ties to the university.
At one point in time, the upper floors of the house were rented out to Baylor law school students. One of the rooms was turned into a sort of dormitory, while the other was kept as an all-night study room.
One of these students went on to become an illustrious law professor, another was a spy during the Second World War, and yet another ended up being the president of Baylor when our guide received her diploma. What a "think tank" of a dorm room!
The house also has strong ties to the Confederacy, as all of the historic homes on the tour did. The men of Texas were drafted into the rebel army, and many maintained their southern pride even after returning home from the lost war. Today, a portrait of General Robert E. Lee still hangs above the fireplace.
During the Reconstruction period, Texas was under a sort of martial law, and the builder of the house was afraid that, due to his post in the Confederate army, his property might be taken away from him. In an effort to keep the house, which was still under construction as of the end of the war, he signed the deed over to his daughter.
To this day, the property has never been owned by a man; every subsequent owner has been a daughter of the family or a woman who has purchased the property. It's very progressive for the time.
The owners of the house were from a prominent Presbyterian family, and an extension of the home is decorated with furniture donated by a local church after a renovation. Several clerical chairs and a pew adorn a sitting room, alongside a card table and a tapestry featuring Waco's most significant landmarks.
The dining room and kitchen were part of an older pre-Civil War house which was bought and expanded on to make the current home.
One of my favorite features of the house is the "new" stovetop, dating back to the very early 60s. The last time that someone actually lived in the house was in the 1950s, and eventually it was purchased by a local socialite who wished to preserve a bit of Waco's history.
McCulloch House
We got back in the car and drove on to the nearby McCulloch House, located on Columbus and 4th.
The original two-room cabin on which the house was built, was originally constructed in 1866 by Dr. Josiah H. Caldwell for his wife and five children. It was later purchased in 1870 by Mr. and Mrs. Champe Carter McCulloch. The McCullochs expanded the house to its current size and Greek Revival style.
Champe Carter McCulloch was a prominent merchant and Waco's mayor for 11 years, and his family resided in the home until 1971. The house now displays family heirlooms from the Caldwell and McCulloch families, along with watercolor paintings by English cotton merchant and artist Charles H. Cox, created in Waco between 1890 and 1901.
A winding staircase took us up to the second floor.
In the 70s, the staircase banister, along with the old wooden mantle from the historic fireplace, was burnt by squatters. It's a real shame that the house, which had been abandoned by that time, was desecrated in that way, but I'm glad that the local historic society has taken it upon themselves to restore it and pay for its upkeep.
East Terrace
I can't tell you how many times, in the four years that I lived in Waco or the two years since that I've gone home to visit my parents, that I've driven past East Terrace and wondered about this old house.
This gorgeous old Victorian manor sits on a property on Mill Street looking out West across the Brazos River. Its name refers to the original architecture; a brick terraced hill constructed by a local brick merchant, who built the house.
After a massive flood of the Brazos River, the original terrace was buried and the house was elevated safely above the riverbanks. Today, the terrace is gone, but the old home's legacy lives on.
In 1858, industrialist and entrepreneur John Wesley Mann relocated from Tennessee and constructed a stunning Italian villa-style residence for his wife, Cemira.
By 1874, Mann, his wife, and their two young sons, Howard and J.W. Jr., had settled into the elegant East Terrace. A key figure in the local economy, Mann was involved in various enterprises, including the brick company that supplied materials for the Waco Suspension Bridge, a significant cultural and economic landmark for the city.
In 1884, Mann added an "Entertainment Wing" to the house, complete with a grand ballroom designed for hosting extravagant gatherings.
The fireplaces in the ballroom are not made from real pink Texas granite but are painted to look like they are to match the stone of the
Texas state capitol building.
Over the years, East Terrace transitioned through various owners and purposes, serving at times as a sanatorium and a boarding house. Today, visitors can explore this historic home and view numerous original Mann family artifacts, including a cast-iron bathtub and period furnishings, offering a glimpse into its storied past.
I really enjoyed spending the day touring these old homes with my mom. It was really fun to learn a little bit about local history and to get a glimpse into the past of these famous old homes.
