W. Y. Penn Home

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the W. Y. Penn Home in Williamson County.

Now, some houses just sit there. And then some houses have a story that keeps on movin' long after the last nail was driven. This is one of those.

The year was 1895, and a local merchant by the name of William Y. Penn had himself a house erected right here in Georgetown. Penn, born in 1860, was not a man content to just run a shop.

He also served as city alderman and mayor, which tells you something about the kind of weight a man could carry in a small Texas town if he had the mind for it. The house itself was built by C. S.

Belford Lumber Co., the same outfit responsible for several other Victorian homes in the area. So when you look at this place, you're seein' the handiwork of a company that left its mark on this whole neighborhood. Now here's where the story takes a turn.

In 1907, the house stopped being a merchant's home and became the residence of the presiding elder of the Georgetown District of the Methodist Church. Think about that. The same rooms, the same walls, the same Victorian bones, now housing the spiritual authority of an entire district.

The house had moved up in the world, you might say. Decades passed. The structure kept standin', kept changin' hands.

In 1945 it was sold to a druggist named M. C. Hodges, born in 1889, who called it home.

Then in 1966 it passed to Dr. Van C. Tipton.

And in 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Allen purchased it and added their chapter to a story that started clear back in 1895.

That's a lot of lives lived under one roof. A merchant, a mayor, a presiding elder, a druggist, a doctor, and a family. The house just kept on welcoming them, one by one.

What the marker says

This house was erected in 1895 for William Y. Penn (1860-1951), a local merchant who also served as city alderman and mayor. Like several other Victorian homes here, it was built by C. S. Belford Lumber Co. In 1907 the structure became the residence of the presiding elder of the Georgetown District of the Methodist Church. It was sold in 1945 to druggist M. C. Hodges (1889-1965) and in 1966 to Dr. Van C. Tipton. In 1973 it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Allen. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1975