The Winedale Story - The Development of Winedale, part 1

As the Wagner House was being restored, the complex of historical buildings at Winedale began to take shape. The farmstead's original Four-Square Barn was restored, and an old hay barn nearby was converted for use as a theater. Between 1965 and 1969, additional historic buildings were moved onto the property and restored at their new sites. These included the log smokehouse and kitchen, Hazel's Lone Oak Cottage, and the Lauderdale House.

FOUR-SQUARE BARN

	Photograph of Four Square Barn, ca. 1990s. Winedale Photograph Collection	Properly called a “transverse crib barn” because it has two pairs of corn cribs across from each other, the Four-Square Barn was built by the Lewis family sometime prior to 1869. Constructed entirely of hand-hewn timber, the barn is one of the last remaining structures of its kind in Texas. Corners of the barn were used for blacksmithing and cabinetmaking, tools for which are on display in the barn today.
Detail of tool at Four-Square Barn, photograph by Drew Patterson. Winedale Photograph Collection

THEATER BARN Leonie Spies and a 1929 Chevrolet in the foreground, with the old hay barn and future Theater Barn in the background. Winedale Photograph Collection The Theater Barn was originally a hay barn built in 1894 by the Wagner family, who used timbers from the old Samuel Lewis cotton gin of the 1850s that once stood to the north of the present site of Hazel's Lone Oak Cottage. In the 1960s, the hay barn was converted into a theater for plays and concerts. The original sides were extended with vented panels, the loft was partially removed to make room for theater balconies, and a two-tiered stage was built to accommodate dramatic productions.

Theater Barn in 1968 before conversion. Ima Hogg Photograph Collection	The East Texas String Ensemble performs in the Theater Barn, ca. 1990s. Winedale Photograph Collection	View of the Theater Barn Today. Winedale Photograph Collection

LOG KITCHEN AND SMOKEHOUSE

Photograph of log kitchen (left) and smokehouse, ca. 1990s.
Winedale Photograph Collection

Both log structures were relocated to Winedale in 1966 to replace a kitchen that burned behind the Wagner House in the 1920s. The log kitchen was originally a house probably built about 1875 by Paul Koneschik between Industry and Shelby in Austin County. A single-pen cedar log structure without a fireplace, it represents the twilight of log cabin construction in the late 1800s. Ima Hogg purchased the cabin from the Giese family in 1966 and restored it to its original lines.

Interior view of the log kitchen, photograph by Drew Patterson.
Winedale Photograph Collection

A typical single-room log building of mid-19th century Texas, the present smokehouse was the dwelling of German immigrant August Boecker in 1866. The cabin was located near the Welcome community in Austin County. The Bybees purchased the cabin from the Giese family in 1966 and donated it to Winedale, where it was restored to its original lines.

LAUDERDALE HOUSE

James Shelby Lauderdale and the Lauderdale House Portrait of James Shelby Lauderdale, Courtsey of Gale Lauderdale Ware.
Winedale Photograph Collection

Restored Lauderdale House at Winedale, ca. 1970s.
Ima Hogg Photograph Collection

The Lauderdale House was built about 1858 by James Shelby Lauderdale (1812-1908) when he settled near Long Point in Washington County. The house's imposing pediment porch reflected the filtering of Classical Revival architecture into the area. Ima Hogg purchased the house in 1963 and moved it to Winedale before its original location was flooded to create Lake Somerville. The Lauderdale House served as a residence for visiting artists and scholars until it was destroyed by an electrical fire in 1981. Debris from the fire was buried in a mound between the two chimneys.

Lauderdale House under restoration at Winedale, 1965. Ima Hogg Photograph Collection		Lauderdale House burning, 1981. Winedale Photograph Collection Lauderdale House chimneys today. Winedale Photograph Collection

HAZEL'S LONE OAK COTTAGE

The house in which you are standing was built about 1868 by German immigrant August Koenig on Jack's Creek about two miles south of Winedale. The land was originally part of the old Nassau Farm. The structure now is named for Hazel Ledbetter, who presented it to Ima Hogg's Winedale project in 1965. Hazel's Lone Oak Cottage has been authentically restored to its simple architectural beauty, with its melding of German and American cultures of mid-19th century Texas.

Hazel's Lone Oak Cottage under restoration at Winedale, ca. 1965.
Ima Hogg Photograph Collection

Portrait of August Koenig, ca. 1870s.
Winedale Photograph Collection

View of Hazel's Lone Oak Cottage today.
Winedale Photograph Collection