The 1905 farm house with a view is moving to make way for Lakeside Village
An iconic 1905 farm house sitting on the 40 acres of the planned Lakeside Village in Flower Mound needed a new home before the heavy equipment rolled in to excavate the site in 2020.
The farm house that has overlooked Lake Grapevine for 71 years from the northeastern shore will be moved to the southern side of the lake, thanks in large part to Mayor Bill Tate of Grapevine.
His decades-long efforts to preserve historic Grapevine have helped to make that city a tourist destination. (The 1905 farm house was located in Grapevine until the property was annexed by Flower Mound in 1987.)
The 1905 farm house will be transported to Grapevine around the beginning of February to ensure that excavation for the $1 billion Lakeside Village can begin as soon as possible. It will then be restored.
Lakeside Village will feature a variety of public spaces, restaurants, parks, trails, hotels, event venues, homes, and offices with lake views. It is being developed through a partnership of the Peter P. Stewart Family of Dallas and Realty Capital Management of Irving as the final phase of the Lakeside DFW community.
The 1905 farm house was constructed by RJ Roberson and his wife Manie, who came to the area from Fort Worth in 1890. The Roberson’s great-grandson, Scott Tarwater, sold the property to Peter P. Stewart in 1987.
The home and property have special meaning for the Grapevine mayor.
“We are really thankful that we can bring the farmhouse to Grapevine … it’s good when developers appreciate the old as well as the new.”
— Bill Tate,
Mayor of Grapevine
“I visited Scott’s home a lot when we were growing up,” explained Tate. The mayor’s parents ran Tate’s Hardware on Main Street in Grapevine, next door to Lipscomb Dry Goods, which was run by Scott Tarwater’s aunt, Ruby Lipscomb.
Tarwater and Tate shared many good times there as boys, enjoying the nature and views over the lake that was constructed between 1948 and 1952.
That relationship brought Tate back to the farmhouse on Thursday to break bread with Tarwater, Peter B. Stewart, and David Stewart.
“We are really thankful that we can bring the farm house to Grapevine and that everyone is interested in preserving it,” he added. “I know it means a lot to Scott.”
“It’s good when developers appreciate the old as well as the new.”
“This is one of the most beautiful properties in all the Metroplex,” Tate said. “It has really spectacular views.”
“The property is in good hands.”
“I am proud to be a part of the history of the upcoming project,” said Tarwater, “and very excited for this next chapter in which the vision of Peter P. Stewart will come to fruition.”
Plans call for the house to be moved next to the McPherson home near the corner of South Dooley Street and East College Street. But the plans have not yet been finalized.
The McPherson home, built in 1885 (sixth oldest in Grapevine), was moved to the College St. location in April 2017 (see video).
“The two homes have similar designs,” commented Tate. “They would look very good next to one another.”
RJ Roberson and his wife Manie had five children (Betty, Ruby, Opal, Genevine, and Bill) and several made their homes on the 14-acre property that was left after 400 acres were purchased for use by Grapevine Lake.
Betty and Scott Tarwater built a house just north of the farmhouse and Genevine and her husband built a house to the south, which still stands.
The old farm house was passed down to the Roberson’s daughter Ruby Lipscomb and her husband Huber, and then to grandson William Jerry Tarwater and his wife Lura Lee Tarwater (the parents of Scott and his two sisters, Pam T. Parks and Kathy T. Mercer).
Tarwater, as an executive with John Q. Hammonds Hotels & Resorts, developed the Embassy Suites Hotel in Grapevine in 2001.
Today, he is developing Lakeside Crossing near the southwest corner of Lakeside Parkway and FM 2499.
The project, currently under construction, will include a Hotel Indigo, retail, offices, and townhomes. It is located on the property long owned by the Joe Roach family, old neighbors of the Lipscomb’s and Tarwater’s.
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