Candlewalk historic Tour of Homes
STORY BY Susan Doty
16 Community Life
Save Old Cleburne’ s annual Candlewalk Tour of Homes is from 1-8 p. m. Dec. 6. Tickets are $ 18 and can be purchased at the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, Layland Museum and Antique Findery. They are also available online via eventbrite. com.
Sponsors include Troy Vinson Jewelers, Godley Estate Sales and Harmon Insurance. Save Old Cleburne— a nonprofit founded in 1976— meets at 7 p. m. every second Monday of the month at JN Long Cultural Arts Center.
BUZBY-CHAMBERS-SMITH HOUSE 415 N. ANGLIN ST. FOURTH TIME ON TOUR
This unique Victorian home features a Richardson Turret that shelters a circular parlor with 12-foot ceilings and was built by F. M. Buzby in 1895. Buzby was the general superintendent of tracks for the Santa Fe Railroad. A year later, he sold the house to Pat Cleburne Chambers, son of B. J. Chambers, the“ Father Of Cleburne.” The house is ornamented with leaded and stained glass windows, four fireplaces, inlaid floors and a courting bench.
Louis Zimmerman bought the house in 1969 along with the property directly behind it facing Main Street. He moved his automotive business Zimmerman and Sons from downtown Cleburne to Main Street. He had planned to tear down the house to expand his car lot, but relatives talked him out of it. He and his wife, Myrtle, moved in the home instead. Trey and Lisa Smith bought the house in 2016 after a search for a turn of the century home in Cleburne. The Smiths added a four-tier fountain to the center of the front sidewalk. Recently they added a circa mid- 1800s wrought iron fence to the yard.
Trey is president of Save Old Cleburne and is dedicated to the preservation of Cleburne’ s beautiful homes and promoting community involvement in Its local history.
PEGUES-RYAN HOUSE 109 BELLEVUE DRIVE FIST TIME ON TOUR
Ralph and May Widman were the first owners of this 1924 Craftsman Bungalow house. Ralph was a foreman for the Santa Fe Railroad. Three years later, they sold the house to Douglas and Gladys Pegues.
Doug was the Cleburne Postmaster. They raised two sons, Darwin and Paul in the home. After Doug passed away in 1966 and Gladys in 1986, Darwin retained ownership of the house. His children sold the house in 2001. The Pegues family owned the house for 73 years.
Recent owners John and Amy Turner added the second floor, pitching the roof to keep with the Craftsman style and expanded the house to 2,600 square feet. The added space is used as an office and the children’ s living and play area.
Blake and Haley Ryan, originally from Waxahachie, wanted to move to a smaller town. They bought the house in December 2023.
After moving in, they redesigned the fireplace and removed dark wood shiplap from a wall in the living room.
FEATHERSTON-WAITS HOUSE 812 W. WARDVILLE ST. FIRST TIME ON TOUR
This large one and a half story Queen Anne Victorian has an octagonal hip dome and curved wrap-around porch ornamented with Victorian fretwork. Built in 1890 by William B. Featherston Jr. and his wife, Stella, it was in what was known as West Cleburne.
William was a prominent city attorney and Johnson County district attorney. Featherston Street was named to honor the family.
The Featherstons remodeled the home in 1901. The house was sold in 1921 to Arthur and Una Burton. Casey and Joy Waits bought the house in 2019. Previous owners had updated the house. The Waits added landscaping to the yard and painted the exterior.
Joy has an eclectic decorating style collecting turn of the century family portraits from antique malls and estate sales. The Waits collect oddities such as mannequin heads or anything they come across that they love in their home.
Joy has a Joy Tree, decorated anything joy— a collection of gifts she has received her entire life. The Waits celebrate with a Christmas tree of different themes in every room.