During my roadtrip yesterday I made a point of stopping by the Winedale Historical District. I have been here before but the stop is always good for a break, and the grounds make for a great way to stretch your legs before getting back on the road.

The Winedale Historical Center, in northeast Fayette County near Round Top, includes several outstanding examples of early Texas architecture.qv The Samuel K. Lewisqv house, a two-story frame house of eight rooms with a galleried porch across the front and an open hall or dogtrot through the center of the structure, combines both Anglo-American and German architectural features. The original portion of the house was probably a one-room house built by William S. Townsend in 1834. Townsend sold the farm in 1840 to John York, who in turn sold it to Samuel K. Lewis in 1848. Lewis enlarged the house to its present form. Utilizing a braced frame construction, the house was built of local cedar sawed in heavy square timbers. The plan of the house, with a central open hall, two rooms on each side of the hall, and chimneys in the gable ends, is typical of the Anglo-American house, while the window details and woodwork suggest the work of German craftsmen. In the mid-1850s the public road from Brenham to La Grange was relocated to run by the Lewis farm, and for a brief period it served as a depot on the Sawyer and Risher stage line from Brenham to La Grange to Austin. The Lewis home served as an inn for stage travelers during this time. It is also believed that the Lewises were responsible for the remarkable interior decoration, a feature that adds much distinction to the building. The decoration consists of a painted ceiling, borders, and overmantel panels found in the major rooms. The most elaborate work is on the ceiling of the second-floor parlor; a green parrot appears in the center of the ceiling. The paintings, consisting of a classic medallion and garland design with a floral border, are the work of a skilled professional painter and are believed to have been done by Rudolph Melchior, a member of a family of German artists who came to the United States in 1853 and settled at Round Top in the 1860s.

via Handbook of Texas Online – WINEDALE HISTORICAL CENTER.

One of the first thing you see as you drive through the Center is the two freestanding chimneys.

The Lauderdale House was built about 1858 by James Shelby Lauderdale (1812-1908) when he settled near Long Point in Washington County. The house’s imposing pediment porch reflected the filtering of Classical Revival architecture into the area. Ima Hogg purchased the house in 1963 and moved it to Winedale before its original location was flooded to create Lake Somerville. The Lauderdale House served as a residence for visiting artists and scholars until it was destroyed by an electrical fire in 1981. Debris from the fire was buried in a mound between the two chimneys.

via The Winedale Story – The Development of Winedale.

I wandered through the house and took pictures of the rooms and furniture as I did…I’ll post some tomorrow.