DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Roy and Madge Hearne House in Bexar County. Now settle in, because this one's got history layered on top of history, and a house that looks like it couldn't quite make up its mind — in the best possible way. The railroad rolled into the area in 1877, and with it came something railroads always bring: ambition.
New neighborhoods started climbing up the hills, including one perched overlooking town near San Pedro Springs. That's the neighborhood where this story plants its roots. W.
McLeroy Hearne — folks called him Roy — was born in 1873, and he made his living as a cotton broker. His wife, Madge Houston Williams, born in 1871, came to the marriage with a name that carried considerable weight. She was the granddaughter of Sam Houston.
Let that settle for a second. In 1910, Roy and Madge purchased property on French Place, and they weren't content with just any house. They brought in architect Atlee B.
Ayres and contractor Eugene Davis to build something worth remembering. And remember it you will. The design pulls from prairie, craftsman, mission, and neoclassical traditions all at once — which sounds like it shouldn't work and somehow absolutely does.
On the outside, you've got granite, limestone, a green barrel tile roof, and large pavilions and porches giving the whole place a presence you can feel from the street. Step inside, and it's just as deliberate — original mosaic tile floors, crown moldings, large windows, wood paneling. Roy Hearne passed in 1917, but Madge lived on in that house's shadow — or maybe its light — until 1955.
The granddaughter of Sam Houston, outlasting nearly everyone, in a house built to last. Some legacies, it turns out, have very good bones.
What the marker says
The arrival of the railroad in 1877 led to construction of new residential developments, including this neighborhood overlooking town near San Pedro Springs. W. McLeroy “Roy” Hearne (1873-1917), a cotton broker, and his wife, Madge Houston Williams (1871-1955), granddaughter of Sam Houston, purchased property on French Place in 1910. They chose architect Atlee B. Ayres and contractor Eugene Davis to build their house. The eclectic design features prairie, craftsman, mission and neoclassical elements. The granite, limestone, green barrel tile roof, large pavilions and porches highlight the house’s distinct exterior. The interior retains its original mosaic tile floors, crown moldings, large windows and wood paneling.