Tuesday, February 14, 2017

The Honeymoon Cottage

When the only daughter of a wealthy cattle baron gets married, it seems only fitting that Daddy would gift the bride and groom an appropriate Honeymoon Cottage.
and that is precisely what he did.
This 18 room 11,000 square foot cottage was built in 1903 on what was then referred to as Quality Hill.
That cattle baron (and oil tycoon) was owner of the the enormous Waggoner Ranch  northwest of Ft. Worth. His daughter Electra had met her husband, described as a Philadelphia blue blood, while traveling in the Himalayas.They lived here and entertained lavishly before selling it in 1910 and moving to the ranch with their two small boys.

Owned now by Historic Fort Worth, you can tour this home that was saved from the wrecking ball by a private organization who raised $38.000 to do so. It is also available for weddings, receptions and private parties.Below are a few of the photos I took.
I was most impressed by the entry and staircase.
The impressive and huge entry was the scene of many parties. The rug pictured was a recent purchase, covering what was the perfect dance floor. I will show you the rest of my photos without a lot of description.


Electra
The mansion, is now surrounded by our medical center...note the emergency helicopter landing on the roof just next door!

Tickets for a tour of "Thistle Hill" can be arranged by contacting Historic Fort Worth. Your ticket will also include another Quality Hill home which will be my next post.



6 comments:

  1. That is some cottage - what a lovely exterior and interior - I suspect that the table lamp will be a genuine Tiffany one.

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  2. Dearest Janey,
    Wow, imagine that the wrecking ball had gotten in charge here? What a shame that would have been.
    We 'little' people cannot imagine the extreme wealth of some others that manage to build such extravaganza.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  3. I like that serie of your wealthy houses with interesting histories. My dad never bought me a honeymoon house :-(... I like it they show some dresses too. Must be very comfortable to have all those rooms to wander from one to another.

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  4. That is much too grand to be a cottage!

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  5. It's just beautiful, but I would call that a mansion. That staircase....wow!

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  6. Now wouldn't this story and this location make a brilliant movie Janey!

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