Description

Winner, 2019 Ron Tyler Award for Best Illustrated Book on Texas History and Culture

In this vibrant tour of historic homes in Waco, Texas, architectural historian Kenneth Hafertepe shares a glimpse of the surprising variety of styles and stories captured in the houses built by and for early Waco residents. Focusing on the period between the 1850s and the 1940s, Hafertepe shares not only portraits of these homes but also provides insight to how their inhabitants lived--from the wealthiest merchants to the humblest day laborers. In Historic Homes of Waco, Texas, Second Edition, Hafertepe enhances the oriinal material with the addition of some of Waco's oldest houses, two very prominent Victorian mansions, and a more humble, eclectic cottage made famous by the wildly popular television show Fixer Upper. He incorporates material gleaned from city directories, fire insurance maps, census and cemetery records, and other archival and published sources along with new evidence to refine building dates, builder information, and family records. More than 120 color photographs paint a complete picture.

The popular enthusiasm for the television series featuring Waco-area "fixer-uppers," coupled with the burgeoning local industry generated by the show's two charismatic hosts, has certainly boosted interest in historic homes and buildings in Waco. Indeed, Hafertepe has incorporated a handful of properties featured on the show among the houses profiled in this book. But beyond any current entertainment craze, this new edition of Historic Homes of Waco, Texas will stand the test of time as an authoritative and entertaining tribute to these important structures and the people who inhabited them.