DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, if you're rollin' through Williamson County and you spot a house that looks like it can't quite make up its mind, well, that's not an accident. That's the W.
C. Vaden House, and it has a story worth slowing down for. The year was 1908.
A prominent local builder by the name of Charles S. Belford put the finishing touches on a home he'd constructed for Wesley Carrol Vaden and his wife Kate, born a Lockett. And what Belford built was something to behold.
See, Wesley Carrol Vaden was a Virginia native, and he carried his tastes with him all the way to Texas. For over forty years, this man taught Latin and Greek at Southwestern University. Latin and Greek.
The languages of emperors and philosophers. So maybe it shouldn't surprise you that when it came time to build a home, Vaden wasn't going to settle for plain. The residence came out eclectic in design.
Queen Anne styling on one hand, classical influences on the other. You might think that's a contradiction, but Vaden apparently saw it as a conversation. And Belford built every word of it.
The details on this place are something else. Inset balconies. An oval window.
Elliptical arched openings. Shingled gable detailing. Each one a little flourish, a little nod to something older and grander than the Texas frontier just outside the door.
A man who spent over forty years teaching the languages of ancient worlds, living inside a house built to echo them. Some folks bring their whole life into the rooms they call home. Wesley Carrol Vaden was apparently one of them.
What the marker says
Prominent local builder Charles S. Belford completed this home for Wesley Carrol Vaden and his wife Kate (Lockett) in 1908. Eclectic in design, the residence features Queen Anne styling with classical influences favored by Vaden, a Virginia native and a professor of Latin and Greek at Southwestern University for over 40 years. The home's notable elements include inset balconies, an oval window, elliptical arched openings, and shingled gable detailing. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1992