Petty House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Petty House in Bexar County. San Antonio in the late 1800s was a city in motion — shedding its frontier skin and growing fast enough to become the largest city in Texas, a title it would hold for three full decades. Into that churning, ambitious place came Mary Francis Drake, born in 1848, arriving in San Antonio in 1890 with her two youngest children and an eye for opportunity.

She began purchasing property around the city, including a lot right along the San Antonio River in an area called Milam Bend, not far from the Crystal Ice and Manufacturing Company. The neighborhood at the time was modest — a patchwork of one- and two-story homes and a few empty lots waiting to become something. Mary Drake didn't wait long.

She built a two-story house there, finished in 1895, and she built it with style. The architect is unknown — history kept that secret — but photographs tell the tale well enough: an asymmetrical façade, a cross-gabled roof, a prominent turret rising up like the house had something to prove. Spindled balustrades ran along the front porch.

Patterned masonry chimneys. It was Queen Anne style through and through, the kind of house that turns heads on a Sunday stroll. The Drake family held onto the property until 1901, when they sold it to William Alexander and Louisa Fitch — who, it turns out, only lived there a short time.

Houses like this have a way of passing through hands until they find the right ones. In November of that same year, 1901, Van Alvin Petty, Senior, and his wife Mary Cordelia — born Dabney — purchased the house. Petty was a Bastrop native, born in 1860, and he had been investing in San Antonio's real estate market since the 1890s.

As president of the Olive-Sternenberg Lumber Company, he ran a thriving business, and he knew a good property when he saw one. Mary Cordelia, born in 1861, would outlive her husband by many years — she made it all the way to 1943. Van Alvin passed in 1929.

But before any of that, Petty put his mark on the house — literally. In 1910 and 1911, he undertook a major renovation, and he brought in serious talent to do it. The design came from noted architect Atlee B.

Ayres. General contractor Otto Lindau managed the work. And when it was done, the house was transformed.

Neoclassical style had been applied to all sides, bringing symmetry where the Queen Anne design had reveled in asymmetry. A new gallery appeared on the second floor. An extension stretched toward the rear.

And rising up along the front — two-story Corinthian columns, the kind that announce a house has arrived. The same structure that once announced itself with a turret and spindled porches now stood composed, columned, and classical. Two visions of architecture, layered one on top of the other, across the span of about fifteen years.

The house changed hands one final time as far as this marker is concerned — in 1947, it was sold to Sam Houston Post 76 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. A house that had seen a city grow from frontier town to Texas's largest, that had been shaped by a widowed mother with a vision, refined by a lumber magnate with ambition, and redesigned by one of the state's noted architects — it ended up belonging to the veterans. Seems fitting, somehow, that a house with that much history would land in the hands of people who understand what it means to be part of something larger than yourself.

What the marker says

San Antonio in the late 1800s was a city quickly changing from a frontier town to a metropolis, soon to become the largest city in Texas, a claim it held for three decades. Mary Francis Drake (1848-1915) arrived in San Antonio in 1890 with her two youngest children and began purchasing property, including this lot along the San Antonio River, an area known as Milam Bend near the Crystal Ice & Manufacturing Company. The neighborhood at the time consisted of one- and two-story residences and a few undeveloped lots. Mary Drake built a two-story house with queen anne-style architectural features, completed in 1895. The home’s architect is unknown but historic photographs show an asymmetrical façade with a cross-gabled roof and prominent turret, spindled balustrades along the front porch and patterned masonry chimneys. The Drake family sold the property in 1901 to William Alexander and Louisa Fitch, who only lived here a short time. Bastrop native Van Alvin Petty, Sr. (1860-1929) and his wife, Mary Cordelia (Dabney) Petty (1861-1943), purchased this house in November 1901. As president of Olive-Sternenberg Lumber Company, Petty operated a thriving business while also investing in San Antonio’s real estate market since the 1890s. In 1910 and 1911, Petty undertook a major renovation of the house, designed by noted architect Atlee B. Ayres and under the management of general contractor Otto Lindau. Neoclassical architectural style was applied to the home, bringing symmetry to all sides and adding a new gallery on the second floor, an extension to the rear, and two-story corinthian columns. In 1947, the house was sold to Sam Houston post 76 of the veterans of foreign wars.