Green Pastures

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Green Pastures. Now, this Victorian home sits on land that goes all the way back to the Isaac Decker Grant of 1835. That's a long pedigree for any piece of ground in Travis County.

The home itself was built in 1894 and 1895 by a Dr. E. W.

Herndon, and it changed hands in 1912 when Judge W. W. Burnett bought it.

But the family that would really leave their mark on the place arrived in 1916. That was lawyer Henry Faulk, born in 1867, along with his wife Martha, born in 1878, and their children. Five of them: Hamilton, Martha, Mary, John Henry, and Texana.

That last name ought to tell you something about how this family felt about the state they called home. Now, you might wonder how a grand Victorian residence becomes one of the most beloved dining destinations in Austin. Well, the marker points right at it.

It was Mary, one of those Faulk children, and her husband Chester Koock who gave the place its name. Green Pastures. And in 1946, they opened it up for public dining.

A home with that much history, finally throwing open its doors and setting the table for anyone who'd come. Henry Faulk, who passed in 1939, and Martha, who would live on until 1957, had raised a family in those rooms. Then the next generation took it somewhere new.

In 1969, their son Ken Koock and a man named Lee Buslett purchased the property, carrying Green Pastures forward again. One piece of land, one 1835 grant, one Victorian house built before the century turned, and a whole lot of life lived inside it.

What the marker says

This Victorian home, located on the 1835 Isaac Decker Grant, was built in 1894-95 by Dr. E. W. Herndon and sold in 1912 to Judge W. W. Burnett. It became the residence in 1916 of lawyer Henry Faulk (1867-1939), his wife Martha (Miner) (1878-1957), and their children, Hamilton, Martha, Mary, John Henry, and Texana. Naming the home "Green Pastures," Mary and her Husband Chester Koock opened it for public dinning in 1946. It was purchased in 1969 by their son Ken Koock and Lee Buslett. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976