We weren’t actively looking to buy a house in Eden. Once in a while, I would peruse the Eden listings on Zillow just out of curiosity. Lynda and I had discussed the idea of retiring in Eden, but my official retirement eligibility date with Travis County isn’t until January 31, 2025. Lynda was thriving in her career and wasn’t ready to retire anytime soon either.
I saw the listing in the Fall of 2021. The current residents, Rod and Sue Christopher, had owned the house since 2006, and were moving to Arkansas to be closer to family. They bought the house from the estate of W.E. and Johnnie Selman, who had inherited the 1920-constructed house from the original owners, her parents, Lee and Effie Stephens
I already had a trip planned to Eden to visit my parents, so I contacted the realtor to request a showing. I was curious! She informed me that someone else had already made an offer on the house. Oh well. No big deal.
After arriving in Eden, the realtor contacted me to let me know that the gentleman who made the offer had backed out. He was an older man and his children convinced him that the house was too much for him to manage. I met the realtor to check it out.
The carpet was in rough shape. The colors weren’t my favorite. The pipes and wiring were old. The house was solid, but definitely needed some love. Someone had their work cut out for them.
There was much I loved about the property. It was on a big corner lot with a huge backyard and a nice red oak tree in the front yard. It had a sprinkler system, but it wasn’t operational. The detached garage still contained items from when the Selman’s owned the property. A Day-Loveless Hardware Co. yardstick, an Eden State Bank matchbook, and unopened items that I’m sure were purchased at either Armor Hardware or Rabon Lumber Co. These were iconic businesses from the Eden I knew as a child in the 70’s and 80’s, and I felt right at home when exploring the garage/workshop.
Above the garage was an old apartment that was in pretty rough shape. It had a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and small kitchenette. This would make a great little mancave/jam room/photo studio, I thought, looking past the antique wallpaper and the dirty linoleum on the bathroom and kitchen floors. The living room and bedroom had old pine floors with a finish that had been worn down over the years.
It was such an interesting property. And it was on PETTY STREET, which carries its own special serendipitous meaning to Lynda and me. You can read how Lynda and I met and our connection to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers here.
I knew properties like this, especially, in Eden, were rare. Someone was going to snatch this place up, so we jumped on it. YIKES!
A lot has happened since we bought the house in 2021. We started making weekend trips to Eden to work on the yard and start a few improvements in the main house. I got the sprinkler system going, we cut down lots of brush and a few dead trees, and we ripped out the smelly carpet in the living room and dining room to discover the oak hardwood floors were completely covered with urine stains. Ouch. $$$!! (Thank you Ramirez Hardwood Floors for the beautiful floors.)
Because the hardwood floors were so expensive, we painted the living room, dining room, and bedrooms ourselves. We began bringing in furniture and a few decorations to make the main house a little more cozy, and we looked forward to our weekend trips to Eden.
As time went on, it became more and more apparent what a blessing this house would be for us. My father was in the hospital in San Angelo for a couple of weeks in December 2021, so the house was a place for me to stay while driving back and forth to the hospital each day. In the summer of 2022, my mother had emergency bypass surgery, and again, 319 Petty St. was my refuge, a place where I could escape and decompress from the stress of caregiving. I teleworked for my job, so I could work from Eden or Austin, depending on where I was needed most at the time.
In October 2022, we began renovations on the garage apartment, completely DIY. I had a few skills from summers working at Rabon Lumber Co. during high school in the early 80’s, but I’m no master carpenter by any means. Lynda and my son, Nathan, were my only helpers. If you look closely, you can see the flaws and imperfections that I’d love to be able to do over. Lynda did a great job decorating, and we are really pleased with the progress.
I’m especially proud of the little table in the kitchen that I made by repurposing an early 1900s antique sewing machine base.
Since buying the property and spending more time in Eden, I’ve been able to reconnect with my hometown in a very special way. I do find it interesting that for much of my childhood and rebellious teenage years, Eden was the place I couldn’t wait to escape FROM, but now, it’s somewhere I look forward to escaping TO.
If you come and stay, I hope you enjoy your time at the Eden Escape!
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