Historic Documentation of the Riviere House
The architectural firm Mark A. Thacker, AIA ~ Commercial & Preservation Architecture, was selected to perform an investigation and documentation for 1604 N. Bois D’Arc, The Riviere House.
A devastating fire occurred on October 31, 2011, and the building then remained vacant and has been in a progressive state of deterioration since. The City of Tyler building inspection department declared the building condemned and scheduled it for demolition.
Riverie House after the 1980 restoration
Riverie House after the 2011 fire
The Historic Tyler Board of Directors acted quickly and voted to fund this house’s documentation as a 2020-2021 preservation project. The intent of this report is to record as much information as possible before demolition, thereby preserving the history of this significant home for future generations. Read the full report here.
Historic Tyler’s 2022 Ellen and John Musselman Preservation Award recipient is Mr. David L. Stanfield
The Hand-Mayfiled-Hunt House
Since 1981, each year, Historic Tyler, Inc. has honored preservation efforts in the community by selecting a noteworthy recipient for the Preservation Award. This annual award was recently named The Ellen and John Musselman Preservation Award after long-time members of Historic Tyler who have impacted and influenced historic preservation in Tyler in many ways.
We are privileged to recognize David Stanfield as the 2022 Preservation Award recipient for his significant contribution to historic preservation.
Linda and David Stanfield
Recently, Mr. Stanfield and his business partner, John R. Forren, restored the Hand-Mayfield-Hunt House, a notable landmark in the Charnwood Residential Historic District. Not only has Mr. Stanfield restored two noteworthy historic homes in Tyler, but he has also restored six historic homes in other cities and antique furniture, cars, and boats.
Dating back to 1861, The Hand-Mayfield-Hunt House was a modest structure that served as both a private school and a residence. The house underwent an extensive remodel in 1899 to its present-day form, a 2 ½ story Classical Revival style dwelling that is a significant historic district anchor. Unfortunately, the property had deteriorated over recent years, which caught David Stanfield’s attention. He and his business partner, John R. Forren, with For-STAN Properties, LLC, acquired 223 East Charnwood in October 2021 and spent seven months restoring the house, including auxiliary structures on the property. David not only restored this house to its original glory, but he also fortified the historical integrity of the entire Charnwood Residential Historic District.
Click here for the The 2021 Ellen and John Musselman Preservation Award recipient – Marvin Methodist Church
The Goodman-LeGrand Museum
Each year, Historic Tyler selects preservation projects that support our mission of preserving local historic sites and structures. We are proud to announce The Goodman-LeGrand as one of our projects for this year.
Dating back to 1859, The Goodman-LeGrand is one of Tyler’s oldest properties and is a wonderful historical treasure. It was the first property in Smith County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been a Texas landmark since 1964. Today, the Goodman-LeGrand operates as a museum and is rich in Tyler’s history. The Goodman-LeGrand needs major exterior repairs and we felt that this was a worthy project. Historic Tyler is the first to donate to this project. We are happy to assist in the preservation of this tangible piece of Tyler’s history.
The Art of Preservation
The Art of Preservation, a coffee table book by Historic Tyler
We are excited to introduce our new project! Historic Tyler is currently in the beginning stages of creating a coffee table book that features various historic homes in Tyler, “The Art of Preservation.” In our research, we have not found any other book that focuses on Tyler’s historic homes.
The coffee table book will serve as a fundraiser for Historic Tyler. Equally important, the book will document Tyler’s historic landscape, making our local history readily available to the community. An integral part of our mission is to promote heritage preservation through education. We have photographed two homes for the book and reached out to all past tour homeowners asking to gauge interest in participating.
We have book sponsorships available. Please contact the office if you would like more information.