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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarker Application 101003COLLEGE STATION HISTORIC MARKER APPLICATION NAME, ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER OF SUBMITTER: Shawn B. Carlson 1031 Rose Circle College Station, TX 77840 ( L0 ) 694-1522 1. THIS MARKER NOMINATION IS FORA: A. © STRUCTURE MARKER Structure is a home If a home, was it formerly located on campus? Address of structure: 1201 Munson Avenue No College Station, TX 77840 Owner's Name & Current Mailing Address & Phone Number: Kenneth and Patricia Peddicord 1201 Munson Avenue College Station, TX 77840 (4091 693-2741 B. L7 SUBJECT MARKER This nornination is for: The title of this subject is: Is the proposed marker to be placed on public or private property? Address where marker will be placed: (Home/Building) (Yes/No) (Event/Topic/Person/Object) THE PEDDICORD HOUSE Historical Significance The Peddicord House is one of the earliest homes constructed in the residential area immediately east of Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station. Built in the spring of 1942 at 1201 Munson Avenue in the College Hills Woodlands Estates subdivision, it is locally recognized as the former residence of Senator Phil Gramm during his tenure as a professor at TAMU from 1972-1979. It was subsequently purchased by Kenneth and Patricia Peddicord in 1983 and they have now resided there for 16 years. The property on which the Peddicord House was constructed has a long history of ownership, beginning with Richard Carter who obtained a league of land (4428 acres) in what is now Brazos County in 18311. Following his death in 18632 and that of his wife in 1876', the property was partitioned among his children and grandchildren. From the original league, 880.25 acres were given to the children of his deceased daughter, Mary Ann Reed, and subsequently partitioned among her grandchildren. Two of the partitioned tracts —one of 237 acres and one of 280 acres --were eventually developed into the College Hills Woodlands subdivision. The 237 acre tract, which was inherited by Mary Ann Reed's son, Wiley, was sold in 1882 to James Coopers; in 1893 to Wincentz Kapczynski6; in 1894 back to Cooper'; and released to Kapczynski in 19118. In 1911, Cooper sold it to Horace P. Dansby, Sr. The 280 acre tract was inherited by Mary Ann Reed's grandchildren, Mary and Stephen Reed (children of Wiley Reed)9. When Wiley Reed's children reached adulthood, they sold their 280 acres to Claud Mitchell, Mary Reed's husband, in 189110. One month later, Mitchell sold the tract to Frank Vavrall. Vavra built a residence on the property and farmed it until 1920 when he sold it to Horace P. Dansby, Sr12. When Dansby died in 1936, his wife, Minnie, sold 200 acres to J.C. Culpepper the following year —the tract being comprised of part of the 280 acre tract and part of the 237 acre tract discussed above". In 1940, the College Hills Company, presided over by J.C. Culpepper, platted this 200 acres as a new subdivision, called "College Hills Woodlands," which was situated south and east of the existing College Hills Estates subdivision"." 1 The deed restrictions drawn up for the College Hills Woodlands in 1940 stated that, (1) the lots were to be residential lots with a single detached family dwelling and necessary outhouses, (2) the building plans and specifications would be approved by a committee comprised three, (3) the dwellings should not be less than 1200 square feet, (4) the houses should face the street, (5) outbuildings could not be occupied during construction of the main dwelling, (6) a sewer disposal system should be installed, (7) "no noxious or offensive trade shall be carried on upon any lot or estate, or shall anything be done thereon which may become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood," (8) a $2.00 maintenance fee would be assessed for streets and parks, (9) restrictions would be effective for 25 years only, (10) invalidation of any one restriction would not invalidate the other restrictions, and (11) an easement of five feet would be reserved at the rear of each lot.15 On March 5, 1942, the College Hills Company sold Lot 11 in the College Hills Woodland Estates —containing five acres --to Jack P. Hays and his wife, Doris, for $10 and other considerations16. On the same day, Hays contracted with J.C. Culpepper "to furnish all the labor and materials for, and to construct, erect and complete upon the lands hereinafter described...one (1) six room and two baths frame dwelling with garage attached"17. The terms of the agreement required Culpepper to complete the home within 90 days of the contract signing for the sum of $6,750. Three months later, Hays entered into another agreement with Culpepper for "further improvements on [the] present dwelling house under construction'18. These improvements were to be completed within 45 days and were apparently initiated due to changes that would entail extra costs of $350. Construction of the Peddicord House was probably completed during the summer of 1942. In December, Hays arranged a loan from the Bryan Building and Loan Association, in the sum of $7,000, to pay the two notes he owed to Culpepper19. The following May, Hays sold Lot 11 to Dwight W. Andres and his wife, Dorothy20. Andres paid $1,500 cash and agreed to pay the balance due on Hays' loan which amounted to $6,883.15. He also paid $1,866.85 on a vendor's lien which was due in 90 days. The Andres resided at 1201 Munson Avenue for 29 years. In April of 1972, they sold Lot 11 to W.P. "Phil" Gramm and his wife Wendy for $49,60021. Although the Gramm's resided on 2 Munson Avenue for only seven years, the home is still referred to locally as the "Gramm House." In 1979, the Gramm's sold Lot 11 to Kenneth E. Matthews and his wife, Janet22. Matthews and his wife assumed the Gramm's loan and agreed to pay the remaining balance on the note for $49,600. The last sale of Lot 11 occurred in 1983 when Matthews and his wife sold the property to Kenneth L. Peddicord and his wife, Patricia'. This sale divided the property into two parcels: one of 1.48 acres including the house, and one of 3.52 acres. The 1.48 acre tract was sold for $132,000. Architectural Significance The College Hills Company platted the College Hills Woodlands subdivision in 1940 and cited N.E. Boughton as the developer on the plat map'. The house built at 1201 Munson is an excellent, early example of the shift from a wooden foundation with multiple stories to the use of concrete -slab foundation and single -story layout of space planning. This "ranch -style" layout creates a broad foot print on the site and accompanied a less formal life style. The large sites found in this neighborhood encourage the single -story plan. The original construction with wood framing and painted siding with wooden shingles is also typical of the period. Intrinsic Significance Although there is no information currently available regarding the architect for the Peddicord House, some interesting pieces of information were provided during an interview with Mrs. Peddicord. The Andres, who resided in the house for nearly 30 years, made a number of improvements to the house and property. One of these was the construction of a swimming pool —measuring 20-x-60 ft.--which apparently was the first residential pool built in College Station. Mrs. Peddicord said that she has often been told that, because of its large size, the pool is used as a marker by pilots. The Andres also enclosed the approach to the front door which is now a tiled dining room and a guest room was attached to the garage. After the Peddicord's purchased the home, they added a wing to the south side of the house in about 1989. The brick facing on this wing matches an existing wing. The bricks were recyled from the old Ursuline Academy formerly located at the corner of Ursuline Avenue and Osborn Drive in Bryan. 3 Social Significance The Peddicord House is significant in many respects. First, it was part of J.C. Culpepper's %is development of residential area in College Station. As such, it is one of a group of houses that reflect this era in College Station's history, i.e., the Hugill House (Culpepper's house), the Zwolinski House, the Moore House, and the Carter House. Second, it reflects the lifestyle of a neighborhood dominated by TAMU faculty. Kenneth Peddicord, a member of the Nuclear Engineering faculty at TAMU since 1983 is also an Associate Vice Chancellor. His wife, Patricia, is a music therapist with the Bryan Independent School District who is also known throughout the neighborhood for her piano instruction. Lastly, the home has broader significance as the former residence of Senator Phil Gramm who resided there during his tenure as an economics professor at TAMU. 4 Figure 1. The Peddicord House, facing east from Munson Avenue. 5 2100 Castleford Rd. #GS-3 Midland, Texas 79705 May 29. 1999 Dear Dr. Carlson: Thank you so very much for being so patient with my request at such a busy time for you. It is difficult not to be sentimental about a place that has claimed twenty-nine years of one's life. I would like to tell you some interesting things about this property. But first, let me tell you that Dr. Andres was the first doctor in College Station. He officed in a space over Madeley's Pharmacy. (I do not know the name of Madeley's now) As soon as possible, he built a small clinic further down on Jersey. It became a drive-in grocery when he built another clinic at 3501 Texas Ave. (which is now a print shop). He practiced forty-seven years in Bryan -College Station. He will be eighty-eight soon and is not well. We live in a retirement home. Now, for bits of trivia in the lx istory of 1201 Munson Drives e«i tY6uithdaU There was a rather deep ravine between Francis and our property. It was filled with thesoil removed when the pool was built. The street was very lightly graveled...no curbs and gutters then. There was an attractive fence around the acre in which the house was located, but we found it very expensive to keep it repaired and painted. We had to string a telephone line from Walton Dr. in order to get tele- phone service. The telephone company did the work, but we paid for the line and labor. The "porch" in the original plan was screened in and floored with fl . sandstone set in sand! The first hard rain we had, we were inundated! My husband engineered the drainage plan and the concrete wall that ex- tends from the pool house around to the other drive way. It has a flower bed in front of it. We had the driveway curbed at the same time. The guest room, bath & closet were in the original house, as was the garage, but we used the connecting, covered roof as a parking place for our cars, while Doctor turned the garage into his hobby shop -- building and redoing furniture. The ancient Arkla air conditioner took up a large part of the garage too. The airconditioner duct was placed in the covered part of the roof, between the two patts of the house. We put in a concrete floor in the "porch" and glassed it in. Ours was one of the first airconditioned houses in either Bryan or College. The men fell through the ceiling in the living-din/Sing room. That was a real mess --table had to be refinished and new bric-a-brac! If the little playhouse is still, in the back yard --it was built for our daughter, and it saw much use. When we bought the house, there were 67 oak trees around the house. My mother-in-law counted them. We lost a few before we moved. -2- We added two bed rooms, two baths, and a large den to the original house. Our architect was John Rowlett, of Caudell, Rowlett and Scott. All of the members of that firm worked for the University at one time or another. I do not remember whether it was a firm then, but we do know that John Rowlett designed the addition. Scott was the architect for Doctor's office 8t 3501 Texas Ave. I think that Caudell was the only one who remained in College Station. Our addtion was angled off a little toward the swimming pool in order to save a large oak tree. The bedroom which we cut into for the hall to the new addition became a nursery and later my sewing room. 0f course, I have no idea what was added after our tenure, but someone might be interested to know,if they have not discovered alveady, the large room on the south end has a pecan floor. It had a dark stain and was beautiful but terrible to keep. The walls were sandblasted pine. I apologize for my amateur drawing. I do not see anything of importance to return to you, but I am keeping your letter. Yours very truly Dorothy C. Andres (Mrs. Dwight W. Andres) After thoughts: As I recall, all of the floors in the orginal part of the house are hardwood. The others are congrete with the exception of the pecan. We tried to buy the brick used in the Ursaline Academy when we added on, but the price they gave us then was prohibitive. The Astin family was still involved at that time. We have lived in Midland twelve years. Doctor Andres has been retired fourteen years. We have only the one daughter, and we thought it would be better for everyone concerned if we were closer to her family We shared our pool with everyone on that side of College Station and around. We enjoyed hearing from the ones who learned to swim there when they were youngeters. Mildred Jones (Mrs. Truman) spent a great deal of time watching children. Nita Smith (Mrs. Manning) is a good friend and a DRT sister. (Daughter of the Republic of Texas) She is probably DAR too. We find it hard to accept the fact that the property we livid in and loved so many years is now known as the Gramm House, but life and memories are short! My drawing of the addition is not truely connected, but I did get the number of rooms right --the closets just fouled me up.