2755 Caney Creek Road , Chappell Hill, TX 77426(Washington County)

After the Texas Revolution the property was a part of the William C Keesee and wife, Mary Chappell Keesee Plantation, which was subdivided after the Civil War in to numerous farm tracts. This wonderful old plank construction farm house was built on its current location by the Ludwig and Marie Grawunder family in the late 1880s (the Wonder Hill community was named after this family). The original siding is cypress, the original flooring is long-leaf pine and the original ship lap boards remain intact under the walls now covered with sheet rock. It is believed that the house was first built in the old dog-trot style but the original breeze-way was later enclosed to make the central hall. At that time other architectural details were added to the house, including the front door with surrounding panes of original antique glass and the "pass-through" from the kitchen to the dining room. Other changes were made over the years as the family grew. The house and the property surrounding it remained in the same family until 1963. The current owners acquired it in 1965. They added electricity and plumbing, two bathrooms and a utility room on the back of the house and additional porches when they restored the house as a weekend retreat from Houston in 1992. Remnants of original outbuildings can still be found on the property and the base of the old cistern, made from old growth cypress brought in from Louisiana still stands in memory of times past. Amaryllis and garlic return each spring - descendants of the bulbs first planted by the original farmers. And the swale - a vestige from the old wagon path leading from the fields to the road can be seen when the yard and fields are mowed. Artifacts from years gone by reveal themselves from time to time, mostly dug up by passing armadillos. The red oak in the back yard of the main house was planted by the current owners on Mother's Day, 1992, just as restoration began.

There is a fire pit, three plum trees, a fig tree and a pomegranate tree and vestiges of an asparagus bed in the space between the two houses.

Approx. 1,813 SF|3 Bedrooms|1.5 Bathrooms|Built 1888

Wood Exterior, Composition Roof, Block Foundation, Front and Back Porches

Entry: 15x9

Living Room:18x16

Kitchen:19x13

Formal Dining Room:11x17

1ST Bedroom:16x17

2ND Bedroom:14x11

3RD Bedroom:14x11

GUEST HOUSE

The Guest House is not original to this property but it is local. Originally standing near the location of the Kenney water tower in Kenney, Texas the house was moved to its present location by the current owners. The house was restored when the owners moved from Houston to the property in 2005. Originally two different houses owned by the same family, the older two-room building (now the kitchen and back bedroom of the guest house) was constructed down the slope near the banks of a creek and was later rolled up the hill on logs and attached to a newer house with two main rooms, a screened sleeping porch (which now serves as glassed-in porch, the living room & front bedroom) and an attic (now the loft). The current kitchen sink module was original to the house and was restored along with the house. The barn, long since gone, once stood near the location where the guest house now stands.

Approx. 1,744 SF|3 Bedrooms|3 Bathrooms|Built 1895

Wood Exterior, Composition Roof, Block Foundation

Living Room:15x15

Kitchen:17x15

1ST Bedroom:15x17

2ND Bedroom:15x12

3RD Bedroom/Upstairs Loft:11x31

Sun Room:24x7

PROPERTY DETAILS

1 Water Well

2 Septic Tanks

Metallic barn (60x40) with storage loft

Equipment Shed

Fencing and cross fencing for cattle

Chicken Coop (made by Mrs. Barnett)

Garden Shed

Rock Lined Fire Pit

Pond

Live creek

Great elevations: Elevations range from approx. 320 ft. at the homestead and approx. 250 ft. along Caney Creek.

A little more history: There was an old share croppers cabin in the back but it is only a pile of old wood now..it is no longer standing. It is, however, surrounded by clumps of paper white narcissus - imagine the woman living there planted a few bulbs because she just had to have something beautiful there and they spread over the years until they surrounded the cabin in a huge circle.