Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association

The Keith House (1933) is a two-story, single-family residence located at 2400 Harris Boulevard. The house enjoys an unobstructed view of the Texas State Capitol from its front balcony. This view is part of the northern boundary of Austin’s protected State Capitol view zone.

The Keith House exemplifies characteristics of the Monterey Revival and the Colonial Revival styles popular in the United States during the 1920s through the 1940s. The Colonial Revival influence is evident through the use of brick, placement of chimneys at the gable ends, 1/1 double-hung windows paired with shutters, and a central hallway. The Monterey Revival influences include a cantilevered wooden balcony, wooden balustrade, low-pitched roof, and varied exterior wall materials. It is the earliest known Austin house displaying elements of the Monterey Revival style.

The early 20th century in the United States was characterized by the revivals
of Colonial and Classical architectural styles, in tandem with the development
of Craftsman and Prairie styles. Traditional Colonial and Classical elements frequently were combined in imaginative ways to produce unique and distinctly American interpretations of traditional designs. The Spanish Monterey architectural style developed in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico from the 1700s to the mid-1800s. With the influx of English settlers in the west, the Spanish Monterey style began to exhibit English Colonial as well as Spanish features, and the Monterey Revival style, first built in the mid-1920s in California, incorporated elements of both the Spanish Eclectic and English Colonial styles.

Both the exterior and interior of the Keith House retains a high degree of architectural integrity, appearing much as it would have in the 1930s. The primary entrance leads to a small foyer dominated by an elegant 180-degree spiral staircase, constructed entirely of wood with a curved mahogany railing.  The front room features a Federal-style carved mantelpiece. All woodwork and doors are original, including the hardware. The floors throughout the house are oak, except in the kitchen, which is pine. In a recent kitchen renovation, the current owners removed linoleum and refinished the pine floor. The original kitchen wallpapers were found intact under two layers of wallpaper. Both bathrooms retain original fixtures, hardware, and tiles.

The Keith House was designed by William Dixon Anderson, a noted Austin builder employed by the Calcasieu Lumber Company, for his sister, Maggie Mae Keith, and her husband Jacque Nicholas Keith. Anderson (1888-1972) was born in Austin, Texas to Ed and Mary Anderson. Ed was a Travis County sheriff, in addition to being County Treasurer for fifteen years. Ed was the grandson of Thomas Anderson, builder of Anderson Mill on the Colorado River in the Hill Country west of Austin.

William Anderson studied architecture (though he never became a licensed architect) under Samuel Gideon at the University of Texas and joined Calcasieu Lumber Company in 1915. He married Gertrude Richter in May 1915 and continued his career at Calcasieu Lumber Company for 46 years, ultimately becoming its chief builder. It is unknown how many houses he built in the area. Anderson, known locally as “the man in the derby hat,” for his choice of headgear, was also a noted local historian, best remembered for his stories of life in Austin in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His most famous work, “Kingdom in the Hills” documented life at Anderson Mill. The Austin History Center maintains a collection of Anderson’s writings.

Anderson purchased the Keith House lot in 1927, and sold it to his sister Maggie Mae (Anderson) Keith, and her husband, Jacque Nicholas Keith, in 1932. Calcasieu Lumber Co. built the house, as designed by Anderson.

Jacque Nicholas Keith (1886-1958) graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1909. He worked at the Austin Realty Company and then at his own law practice until 1918. He married Maggie Mae Anderson in 1915.  Maggie Mae lived in the Keith House until 1962.

The Austin Development Company, which developed Pemberton Heights in the late 20’s, advertised Pemberton Heights as a ‘well balanced’ community with some streets planned for “fancy $3500-$4000 cottages” and adjacent streets reserved for “$150,000 mansions.” They highlighted the neighborhood’s amenities in a brochure, “…with over five miles of paved and shaded streets and sidewalks, and over seven acres of private park adjoining and adjacent to Pease and Enfield Parks on the north…”

Harris Boulevard was among the first streets laid out and developed in Pemberton Heights. It is possible to see the influence the Keith House had on other houses built after its completion.

(The information for this article was gathered from the THC website.)

Bryan and Jenni Chester have always loved history and old houses. In 1999, when they bought the house at 2524 Harris Boulevard, they knew from the start they were going to restore it back to its original 1937 condition.

Their research began at the Austin History Center. They were able to find old photographs of the house and contact family members of the original owners. With the help of local architect Nick Deaver, who specializes in old home restoration, the house now looks very much like it did close to 70 years ago.

The Caterall Mills House is an Early American Georgian Revival. It is a plain, symmetrical, wood frame structure covered with red wood siding. The design is derived from the Early Georgian house (1700-1800). Identified with American Independence, this type of house was made popular by George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

The house has some unusual architectural features including a bomb shelter in the backyard built during the Cold War with Russia. The second owner, Dottie Bull added an Italian marble fireplace, stained glass windows and front doors from a church in Bastrop, and tin ceiling tiles in the living room. She also added the front porch and columns and replaced all of the front first floor windows with french doors. She covered the horizontal red wood siding with vertical cedar siding. Bryan and Jenni restored many of the original features of the home including the horizontal redwood siding and the original oak floors.

While researching their home, the Chesters discovered that the first owners, Gordon E. Mills and Margaret Catterall Mills were very prominent Austinites throughout the mid 1900’s.

Gordon Eldridge Mills was born in Maine in the early 1900’s. He was an orphan raised by his siblings and educated at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He married Margaret in 1933 and they moved to Austin in 1935 so he could go to work for his father-in-law at the Walker Austex Chili Company. It was there that Gordon distinguished himself as a key business and civic leader. His 20 year tenure at Austex included Vice President and General Manager.

Many of you may have never heard of Austex Chili, but in the 1930’s there were 3 major businesses in Austin – the University, the Government, and Austex Chili. Located at 310 San Antonio, it was the largest factory of its kind in the United States. It played a dominant role in popularizing Mexican style foods throughout the country.

During World War II, Gordon was instrumental in negotiating a contract to provide C-Rations (Army) and K- Rations (Navy) for our troops. Gordon Mills wanted Austin to be
able to compete with the other cities in Texas not only on a business level but on a cultural one. He and his wife Margaret were very involved in the Austin Symphony, the local art scene, the Austin Country Club and the Men’s and Women’s Golf Association. Gordon was a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.

One of Gordon Mills most notable achievements was his involvement in the creation of the Austin Humane Society. He organized the drive that raised the funds to build the Austin and Travis County Animal Shelter at its current location by the old Missouri Pacific Depot and served as the General Manager. Margaret shared her husbands love for animals and they were known to adopt many strays themselves.

Margaret Catterall was born in Galveston, the youngest of the five children of Fred W. and Elizabeth Catterall. In 1928 she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in New York. She was one of the first women to attend. During World War II, Margaret was very active at the Red Cross, folding bags and parachutes. She was instrumental in the installation of Austin’s current Civil Defense warning system. Austin was thought to be a prime target for a Russian nuclear strike as Bergstrom housed the B-52s. Margaret had a bomb shelter built in her backyard as a few other Pemberton residents did. After the war she planted a victory garden in the back of the house. She was a patriot through and through.

Gordon and Margaret hob-knobbed with Austin’s social elite at the Austin Country Club back in the fifties and sixties. Their company included the likes of Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, Allan Shivers, John Connally and J. C. Penney to name but a few. Gordon served as president of the ACC in the early fifties and it was there that he and his wife chaired numerous fund raisers, benefits, and roasts.  Margaret passed away in 1965 and Gordon followed her in 1972.

By Dana Wesson

“This beautiful rock Castle in Pemberton Heights with nearly one acre of ground must be sold at once. The Original Cost was approximately $16,000.00. Will Sell For $8000.00, terms to suit purchaser.” – 1935 newspaper ad

Historic Pemberton Castle, otherwise known as the Fisher-Gideon House, located at 1415 Wooldridge Drive, is a lovely, ivy-covered, 1926-constructed limestone castle, touting a rich history filled with ghosts, artists and prominent Texas figures. Originally constructed on the outskirts of Austin in the late 1800s as a water cistern, it was initially used by the City for firefighting purposes.

According to the earliest deed records, the property belonged to John W. Harris (1810-1887) of Galveston, who was married to Annie Pleasants Fisher Dallam (daughter of Samuel Rhoads Fisher (1794-1839), a signer of the Declaration of Independence). Mr. Harris was Attorney General of Texas in the 1840s under Governor Elisha M. Pease, and they were real estate partners as well.

Pease purchased the enormous tract of land which would eventually become known as the Enfield area and West Austin in 1859 from businessman James B. Shaw, and Judge Harris purchased the adjacent northern tract. The cistern evolved into a water tower and pump house for irrigating the Harris farm, where fields of corn, and later spinach, gave way to what we now know as Pemberton Heights. The early rock pump house remains on the property to this day.

In 1925 the tower was converted into a Gothic castle by developer Samuel (Budley) William Fisher II (1881-1955) and his wife Josephine Lucille Mathen (1883-1971), who inherited the farm in 1920 from his second cousin Reba B. Masterton, granddaughter of Judge Harris’ widow. By the following year, the Fishers had traded the entire property for shares of stock in the Austin Development Company (George G. Murray, president), which planned to create a subdivision for homey cottages and mansions.

By midsummer of 1927, the developers filed a plat with the Travis County Clerk for the first unit of the new subdivision to be called Pemberton Heights. Pemberton was the middle name of Fisher’s uncle Walter P. Fisher. Wooldridge was the middle name of his brother (who was married to Julia Scarbrough, of the department store family), and his mother’s maiden name.

The Castle then became the sales office for the Pemberton Heights subdivision. To attract prospective home buyers, limestone wings were constructed on each side of the water tower, and the whole structure was topped with squared notches, giving it the castle-like appearance. The Fishers, along with their four children, apparently resided two homes to the west at 1505 Wooldridge Drive.

In May, 1932, during the Great Depression, title to the Castle was transferred to the American National Bank of Austin, who put it up for sale. The picturesque, but eccentric, building apparently attracted no buyers for years, as an unsuccessful 1935 advertisement in the Austin
American read:

“This beautiful rock Castle in Pemberton Heights with nearly one acre of ground must be sold at once. The Original Cost was approximately $16,000.00. Will Sell For $8000.00, terms to suit purchaser.”

The J. F. Kone family, acting as caretakers for the bank in 1935, were the first actual occupants. At this time the Castle had bare concrete floors and no real kitchen. In 1937, Samuel Gideon (1875-1945) purchased the Castle. He was a major figure in Texas architecture and an early proponent of historic preservation. Gideon studied architecture at MIT and Harvard and graduated from the School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau, France. In 1913 Gideon became a professor of architectural design and history at the University of Texas.

Professor Gideon is believed to have been the architect of the initial transformation of the water tower into a livable residence with an old English air. From the demolition of the “Old Main” building on the University of Texas campus, Professor Gideon salvaged bricks and stained glass windows. Pennsylvania slate floors were remnants from the construction of the Home Economics Building. One of the two large 13’ gothic windows is now the focal point of the lower tower room. It revolves, providing a walk-out exit to the garden terrace. Stones in the south wall came from the O. Henry House. Gideon was responsible for incorporating the main staircase, reportedly created by Swiss woodcarver Peter Mansbendel and removed from the Bishop Kinsolving house on Whitis. The Gideons added the current kitchen with a master bath above. Professor Gideon created a studio on the second floor of the water tower, while the first floor was simply used for storage.

Mrs. Gideon passed away in 1954, and over the next fifty years the castle changed hands a number of times. It seems to attract colorful, interesting owners, including actress/artist Grace (Libby) Foster Winters Bunch (who was once June Allyson’s roommate in New York) and her husband, Roy, an architectural engineer (owners 1966-1982). Mrs. Winters painted a portrait, which hung over the mantel in the living room, of the lovely ghost that she believed she saw one night, dressed in a magnificently colored Camelot gown.

The legendary ghost story which has been passed along from owner to owner involves a couple which stayed as guests at the Castle on their wedding night. The groom apparently became enraged and threw his new bride into the uncovered cistern, thereby drowning her. It is said that she walks the castle in the early hours of the morning, causing nearby dogs to bark. The groom is said to have been hung on the spot, and he too allegedly roams the Castle grounds.

When the Winters decided to turn the ground floor of the tower into a “cantina,” they discovered a Model-A frame embedded in the limestone wall, presumably used for support. They also turned Professor Gideon’s studio into a circular bedroom. The room has an 18-foot wooden ceiling with exposed beams. The Winters were also responsible for the construction in 1961 of a castellated carport (which later became an enclosed garage) at the eastern wing of the Castle. Mrs. Winters was quoted as saying “One would think that the interior of the Castle would be old and depressing. But on the contrary, it is very bright with sunshine streaming through the Romanesque windows, reflecting the colorful sheen of the slate floors”.

Retired Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and Mrs. William W. Kilgarlin (owners 1982-1994) skillfully modernized the home, while capturing a grace and dignity befitting a castle. Judge Kilgarin was reputed to have housed an extensive wine collection above the lower bar area in the tower.

In 1994, the property was sold to Motorola/Dell executive, Morton Topfer and his wife Angela, who were responsible for rehabilitating the systems and fabric of the house and restoring much of the interior to its historic appearance, as well as obtaining the Official Texas Historical Marker, which was awarded to the Castle on June 14, 1997.