Hoover House Reading Book Reduced

Humble Beginings
Judi, one of three children, was raised by career military parents then stationed at Sheppard
Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, and Tommy was raised by a mom wrangling four boys while
his dad worked in the oil fields. They met while attending high school in Burkburnett, Texas,
and later began dating as students at North Texas State University in Denton, marrying in
1967.
After college, Judi first applied her degree in psychology
and sociology as a social worker for the YWCA in Dallas.
Four years later she was hired by the Federal Bureau of
Prisons and worked at the federal correctional institution
in Ft. Worth. In 1974, she was transferred to the Metropolitan
Correctional Center in San Diego, California,
where she was promoted to become a Correctional Treatment
Specialist. Here, in addition to managing a large
caseload, she was charged with the post-trial study and
observation of prisoners. Some of the more notorious
inmates Judi analyzed were Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme of
the Manson clan, and Sara Jane Moore, who shot President
Gerald Ford. Her third assignment with the Bureau
of Prisons was the penitentiary at Terre Haute, Indiana.
When Tommy graduated from college, he put his degree
in business and personnel management to use running
operations for Transcon Freight Lines. He worked his
way up in the company, from laboring on the freight
docks during college and socking away Teamster wages
of $15 per hour, to supervising dock workers.
Backyard, San Diego
Just roll up those sleeves and write up a punch list
How could such varied backgrounds – Judi’s human behavioral studies and Tommy’s knack
for freight management and personnel – evolve into careers spent resuscitating timeworn
architecture? Their career changes came in stages. Like most young couples just starting out,
at first the Hoovers rented their homes. Because they enjoyed what Judi calls “making things
better,” they painted and made repairs, often in exchange for rent and security deposits.
Later, to supplement incomes from their professional jobs, they devoted spare time to cleaning
and repairing rental properties owned by a Dallas landlady. It helped that Tommy had
served as a plumber’s apprentice during high school. When it came to countertop installations,
wall repairs, floor-finishing and carpentry their can-do spirit helped even more. Soon
enough, their $2-per-hour part-time jobs helped build up a tidy savings account and skill
levels to take on ever-larger projects.
1972, our first home
Bedford, TX
With these two advantages in hand, Tommy and Judi
bought their first home in 1972 - - a woebegone red-brick
3/2 in Bedford, Texas. The place was barely habitable but
they chose it for convenience to Tommy’s job in Dallas and
Judi’s work at the federal prison in Ft. Worth
“Termites had pretty well chewed it up,” chuckled Tommy.
“The floor under the kitchen sink had a hole big enough
to throw a suitcase through. Everything in one bathroom
was so rotted that the toilet stood on nothing more than its
sewer pipe.”.
A year later, with all the damage repaired, fresh paint and
restored wood floors, the couple sold the property for more
than twice what they’d put into it. They closed the deal, rewarded
not only by their sales profit, but the pride of having done the work to revive
the home all by themselves. The Bedford project sparked a fire in the young couple
that would last a lifetime.
Next, they packed up their 1964 El Camino and headed west to settle into their respective
San Diego jobs: analyzing federal prisoners and managing day operations for
Transcon. Here, the Hoover’s savvy for salvaging old homes moved up a notch. This
time, they bought a former sea captain’s timeworn cabin.
Never mind that it was a bit barnacled with age from the 1890s. Its view of San
Diego’s harbor was priceless. So what if the little house’s board-and-batten walls were
only of single thickness? It had a dandy fireplace to ward off those rare Southern California
chills. And, what of all those needy repairs and upgrades to utilities, woodwork
and cabinetry? The Hoovers were undaunted. Just roll up those sleeves and write up a
punch list.

1974 A lucky find An
Historic home on Point
Loma,San Diego, CA
Decades before “DIY” house flipping became popular
the young couple agreed that this was the sort
of work they most enjoyed
While working at the San Diego prison, Judi’s warden revealed that a new federalprison was
being planned at Bastrop. They’d been yearning to get back to Texas and had heard about
the history-laden town and its setting near the Lost Pine Forest on the Colorado River. So,
the Hoovers took time off and cranked up their bedraggled El Camino
to take a look.
Arriving in 1975, viewing Bastrop
for the first time, they liked what
they saw, which was mostly opportunity.
“It was puzzling to drive
the neighborhood and downtown
streets and see all the historic
homes and buildings that were
abandoned and in need of serious
repair,” Judi recalls of their visit.
“We couldn’t understand how that
could happen”.
Terre Haute, IN
Returning to San Diego,
Tommy and Judi
devoted all their spare
time for over two
years to restoring the
hillside cabin, adding
a guesthouse, broad
decks and landscaping.
In 1976, they
sold it, wowed that
their investment had
nearly quadrupled.
At this point – decades
before “DIY”
house flipping
became popular –
the young Hoovers
agreed that this was the sort of work they most enjoyed and by which
they might actually make a good living. But not quite yet.
From San Diego, the Hoovers aimed the El Camino for a cross-country move to Terre
Haute, Indiana, where a new, more challenging position with the Bureau of Prisons
awaited Judi. While living on the prison grounds the couple invested in a sagging 1920s
bungalow close by. Tommy decided to take on its rehabilitation full-time.
With Judi helping as she could, he labored on the house for the two years they remained
in Indiana. They “took in” the attic by adding a stairway and two upstairs bedrooms and
bath. Downstairs, they removed a wall separating two small bedrooms to create a large
primary suite. They re-plastered walls with sweeping textures and applied warm interior
paint colors.
From residential streets where
classic homes from every
19th-century period sleepily
gazed from leafy shadows, to
a three-block Main Street that
itched forreinvigoration, the
Hoovers foresaw nothing but promise. Deciding to stake a claim for their future,
she and Tommy purchased 54 acres in the pine forest a few miles east of town.
1976 Before
After

703 Farm St was
our first home in
Bastrop. Being
granted the Texas
Medallion was
a huge accomplishment.
Now, Bastrop beckoned and the long procession of elderly,
enfeebled structures which the Hoovers revitalized over the years was launched
In 1978, Judi decided to leave behind the security of her federal job and join Tommy as fully
self-employed. Although her years with the Bureau of Prisons were fulfilling they didn’t
match the satisfaction Judi got from working with her husband to resurrect old houses.
Now, Bastrop beckoned and the long procession of elderly, enfeebled structures which the
Hoovers revitalized over the years was launched.
Arriving in October 1978 in an EZ-Haul box van that they bought well beyond its last
turn-in date, the couple signed a contract for a stately, two-story 1860s Greek Revival
home at 703 Farm Street. Moving in, they went to work on its restoration while keeping a
lookout for graying fixer-uppers that they could buy and haul to their forestedacreage for
reincarnation as residences to sell or rent.
The early-day log cabin was adapted as an inviting setting where overnight guests could
gather for meals set before a huge rock fireplace. Among the farmhouses was a one-of-akind
1912 German-Texan home whose interior walls were embellished with stenciled and
hand-painted designs. This once-beloved house featured a bedroom upon whose ceiling
was painted a celestial orb in which winged cherubs, white doves and floral bouquets lofted
among the cottony clouds.
As chance would have it, the Hoover’s “Primitive Pines” development, so long and painstaking
to establish, lay in the path of the devastating 2011 wildfire that charred over 17,000
acres of the Lost Pine Forest and destroyed more than 1,700 homes and buildings.
Over the ensuing 20 years, the couple nestled thirteen 19th century structures on their
“Primitive Pines” property. They hired expert house movers to bring in and set up an early
1900s country schoolhouse, numerous early Texas-style farmhouses, one log structure, a
one-time garage apartment, and a WWII military barracks – all then tastefully restored and
converted.

“We worked all the time...so busy working that
we never thought about developing an overarching
plan or long term goals the projects just
evolved.”
Before projects were finished and money from rental or property sales contributed
to their livelihood, the Hoover’s early years in Bastrop were consumed
with all types of work. They offered services that coincided with their restoration
work: tackling landscaping jobs, hauling plants and mulch in their old
moving van, its flanks still embellished with the truck’s original graphics of
elephants on a background of faded green. These efforts morphed into Tejas
Landscaping.
Tommy and Judi volunteered their green thumbs to soften the looks of neglected
public areas around town with small beautification projects. they
asked permission to repaint the courthouse gazebo to better match the warm
colors of the adjacent brick jail building.
They obtained real estate licenses and Hoover Properties was born - Tommy, a
broker and Judi, an agent. They contracted their talents as interior designers and
a wallpaper, flooring, and interior decor store, Pine Country Interiors, grew as a
result. All the while, the pair continued to accumulate the funds to buy, fix up
and often reside in their own properties during restoration.
“We worked all the time!” exclaimed Judi. “We were so busy working that we
never thought about developing an overarching plan or long term goals……the
projects just evolved.”
But locals, especially the town’s older and more landed citizens, couldn’t help but
take notice and appreciate the Hoover’s talents and work ethic. It helped that Judi
joined the local historical society, was appointed
to the County Historical Commission and
became fast friends with many of “the history
ladies of the town,” as she calls them.
The couple listened to stories about Bastrop
times and townsfolk during regular domino
matches alongside a retired neighboring postman
and his wife. They befriended the county’s
tax-assessor collector who invited Tommy and
Judi to explore archives kept in the old courthouse
basement and probe the corners of Bastrop’s
past. And from an aging carpenter whose
lineage sank deeply into the previous century,
they gained insight into how the county’s early
homes and buildings were constructed.
“We seemed to be more in line with what the
older people of the community did and with
the knowledge they stored,” sums Tommy.
“We were happy to be welcomed into their
circles.” When the couple purchased a turnof-the-century
home at 608 Pecan Street
and were busy restoring it as their second
Bastrop residence, its former owner, Mason
Chalmers, befriended the Hoover’s and became
their self-described “inspector.” He’d
shower them with advice but often watch
with astonishment as the pair ripped out perfectly good modern materials in favor of retaining
the weathered, crafted woodwork that they often discovered beneath.
This is the house we bought from Mason
- 608 Pecan St
“Mason’s scrap pile became our treasure trove and trading
materials with him was our practice for many years,”
recalls Judi.
“Actually, it was Mason who got us hooked on moving
houses,” says Tommy. “We’d been stumped on how to relocate
an old wash house to another spot in our backyard.
Mason stepped in and showed us how to lay down pipe
and simply roll it into place using the pull of a come-along
winch and a push from the old El Camino.”
But what more greatly widened friendships was the
Hoover’s 1981 purchase and reincarnation of a little brick
garage whose musty, trash-filled bay yawned at the south
end of Main Street. In 1983, the couple opened it as the
1832 Tavern, the first Bastrop establishment to offer liquor
by the drink in decades.

809 Main St.
The 1832 Tavern
Their “1832 Tavern” at the foot of Bastrop’s Victorian Main Street was booming. And when the
hired help didn’t show up it was the establishment’s owners, “Chef” Judi and Tommy, the “barkeep,”
who flipped burgers, cleaned tables and filled the drink orders.
Meanwhile, they were finishing up the last of several antique houses moved onto their property
in the Lost Pine Forest on Highway 21, just east of town. And while all this was going on, the
Hoovers were edging toward development of their biggest project yet. They had recently purchased
a three-acre town tract overlooking the Colorado River where they planned to install a compound
of old buildings to be restored as places to dine, shop and spend the night.
And that wasn’t all. The two were putting in any leftover time to revamp a metal-sided, two-story
former Woodsmen of the World Lodge on Pine Street as their third Bastrop residence. Already,
they had clustered in the shade of a huge pecan tree behind the old lodge some rescued buildings
that would make up another snug off-Main Street compound setting for B&B guests, diners and
shoppers.
“I guess sawdust runs in our veins,” says Judi, her spattered hands held up in mock surrender as
she pauses with a paintbrush.
Open for Businees - December 1982

Shown on an 1887 map of Bastrop, the building had lived out its varied life as a mercantile,
a photography studio, and had spent its last decades with its facade hollowed out so the
city’s fire truck could be sheltered from the weather.
Tommy and Judi hired expert local mason Refurio “Cuco” Urbina to rebuild front and
back columns to shoulder tall windows and wide doorways. After cleaning the interior, the
two used materials they had salvaged from an 1860s farmhouse, found near the Muldoon
community, to return timeless character to the structure. Wide pine board flooring and
beadboard wainscoting lent authenticity to the walls and to the bar which stretched across
the room. Salvaged pressed tin panels created the dignifiied ceiling.
The Tavern was a success from its opening day. Here, once in a while, Tommy and Judi
could lay down their hammers and paintbrushes to tend the grill, wait tables, mix drinks
and make lasting friends. The place was also a wellspring that fed their aspirations with
good leads.
“Folks would tell me about dilapidated houses, log barns, or piles of old lumber and rusty
tin they needed to get rid of,” Tommy recollects. “Once, I got wind of a huge supply of
perfectly good brick that was being given away...ideal for sidewalks and landscaping, thank
you!”
“Another time I overheard two guys wondering how to dispose of several acres of loamy
bottomland dirt at a site where they were building a race track,” he recalls, immediately
telling them: “I’ll be glad to take it.”
Tommy, the deal-maker, ended up getting hundreds of dump truck loads of soil to transform
the sloping river bank they had purchased below downtown into a level, buidable site.
The cost: $8 per load. The Crossing development, offering scenic views of the Colortado
River, would now occupy this one-time ravine.

Shortly after we bpight the Taverm purchaesed the adjacent property and
moved in an 1880’s barn and an 1860’s kitchen to create a compound of
businesses

The Copper Shot Sistillery is housed in the old barn.

All of the trees and plant were planted by the Hovers during construction in the 1990’s.
All of the bald cyprus trees were one inch caliper when they were planted.

“The Crossing”
the Hoover’s most ambitious and successful undertaking
The fill dirt provided the virtual foundation for one of the Hoover’s most ambitious and successful undertakings, “The Crossing.” In
1993, ten years after buying the tract, Tommy and Judi began rolling in old buildings that would make up a riverside dining, entertainment,
shopping, and B&B compound to augment the adjacent offerings of Main Street.
First up for the site came a 60x25-foot former mercantile building that had resided next to the railroad tracks at nearby Winchester
since 1905. It was sawed down the middle, hauled in two loads and gently maneuvered onto the newly filled site.
Reborn as a full-service restaurant and bar, dubbed “The Yacht Club,” the building’s long side was expanded with stepped decks to
offer diners premier river views. Inside, the walls and ceiling were decorated with “river funk.” Floating upside down above the bar was
a battered canoe, “spilling” its cargo of paddles, fishing poles, tackle boxes and an old ice chest.
Eight other structures make up the The Crossing complex including a couple of simple late-1800s and early-1900s farmhouses and
various shops created from such buildings as a former cotton gin weighing station, a one-room schoolhouse, an 1850s smokehouse, a
cabin used as a brothel behind a notorious bar and others brought from near and far. The rustic charm of The Crossing has attrac ed
many local and national film productions to its banks.
The Crossing
Bob Parvin captured our vision for “The Crossing”.
We used this sketch at various public meetings to
help people “see” what we saw as the end product.

Paul Goebel’s General Store
Front Street Winchester, Texas
Built Late 1880’s

Second Primative Baptist Church
Alum Creek, Texas
Built early 1900’s
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Dave Garcia House
College St Bastrop, Texas
Built Late 1880’s
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Barton Place Smoke House
Off TX HWY 969 Bastrop, Texas
Built Early 1840’s

One Room School House
Kovar,Texas
Built Early1900’s
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The Infamous “Club 71”
On TX Hwy 71, Bastrop, Texas
Built Mid 1860’s
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Sunday House
On Hwy 290, Paige, Texas
Built 1890’s

Ealry Texas Home
On Farm St, Bastrop, Texas
Built 1850’s
Cotton Weigh Station
From Yorktown, Texas
Built 1910

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“People say he has an artist’s vision, a sort of third eye that sees what others can’t”
Hoover projects are more often set in motion by a shared vision than a sound
budget projection. Experience informs how a doubling of profits usually derives
from a tasteful restoration or remodeling job. And from the outset of a project,
until its finish, Tommy and Judi are in tandem, each complimenting the other’s
skills and efforts.
Judi calls herself “the finisher. “Every morning I go in with a punch list to get this
and that done,” she explains. “If we have people working with us, we’re right there
working beside them everday.”
Together, Tommy and Judi do the pre-construction tear outs – often tedious, dirty
and sometimes dangerous work necessary before their plans begin to take shape.
While Tommy guides and works with the carpenters, he focuses on completion of
structural and spatial designs. Judi glazes windows, sands and finishes floors and
woodwork, selects colors and does the painting.
“We make sure we don’t have to do things twice,” Tommy stresses.
We alvaged this cedar and stored it on our property on McAlister
Ranch Road for future use.
Our vision for this property was to create a place for poople to enjoy this
view... Iconic Iron Bridge over the Colorado River at sunset.

We moved this 1905 General Store on the tracks in
Winchester and still own th the lot it was on

We added the “River Room” for the great view of
the Colorado and sunsets against the “Old Iron Bridge”
A deliberative and highly creative builder, Tommy needs no blueprint nor scaled elevational drawings to guide his
knack for reimagining living spaces.
“People say he has an artist’s vision, a sort of third eye that sees what others can’t,” lauds Judi. “After we’ve restored a
house, that looked like a tear down in the beginning, people would ask, ‘how were you able to see what that could
become?’”
“Or,” Tommy quipped, “they’d say that looks like a Hoover project because it’s
something nobody else would want to touch.”
The Hoovers are careful when taking on workers and contractors and have developed lasting relationships with many.
Fortunately, the local community yielded craftsmen at skill levels and a work ethic the Hoovers sought.
First, there were Roy Juarez and Charlie Pacheco, “old-school” carpenters, whose
abilities paired well with Tommy during the early years. Then came Raymond Ramon and Andrew Gonzales who
spent 20 busy years with the Hoovers. More recently, John Ray awed Tommy with his building skills.
“John was the kind of guy, who with the slightest bit of direction could make it
happen,” Tommy recalls.
“We were fortunate to find a few talented craftsmen who loved to work, were conscientious and truly cared about
historical materials and structures,” adds Judi.

One of Billy Reid’s treasures
found a nice resting place here.

This building was the 1860’s Smokeehouse on the Bob Barton Place
on FM-969 overlooking the Colorado River

These were the original doors on the 1800’s Catholic Churce at Chestnut and Water Street.
In the 1980’s the doors were rescued from a pile of wood in Leon Bedford’s auto repair yard on Pecan Street.

This building was half of a home on Emile Street,
the other half was a log cabin we moved to the country.

We added this room with windows for the
river view and also added the large porches and decks.

This building was originally a “Sunday House”
located east of Paige, TX

This small building was a part of “Club 71” ,
a populart “bar” on Hwy 71 - dating back to the 1960’s
The front door is great example of how German Settlers
would paint wood grain patterns to simulate finer wood.

This 1905 building was being used as the
cotton weigh station in Yorktown Texas.

This 1860’s house was moved from Farm Street to the Crossing
and was used as a bed and breakfsast for many years.

This was a one room schoolhouse in Fedor Texas, (East of Bastrop off Hwy 21)
In order to get the building above the flood plain, we used railroad ties to “crib“ the strucure off the ground, high enough for the placement of piers.

Surprisingly, the interior paint is original
and quite bright! The pine floor also shows minimal
wear for a busy little scountry choolhouse

We are always on the lookout for
“Unique Treasures” like this classic
neon sign from Palestine Texas
Such successes weren’t earned without hurdles
It is impossible to enumerate the financial gains Bastrop has realized through the Hoover’s
various commercial and residential undertakings. To illustrate, “The Roadhouse,” a beerand-burger
joint that they sited across from the entrance to Bastrop State Park has become
a local landmark.
Built around an abandoned state highway engineer’s office that Tommy saved from demolition
and had moved, The Roadhouse was an instant hit when the Hoovers opened its
doors in 2000. Texas Monthly magazine has rated its burgers among the tops in the state.
But such successes weren’t earned without hurdles.
“When we were working toward opening The Tavern, we were forced into a battle over an
antiquated city ordinance to gain approval of our liquor permit,” recollects Judi. “So, at first
we had to open as a private club.” “But, years later, when the Hyatt Resort moved to our
area, citizens voted in favor of liquor-by-the-drink, eliminating the need for the expense
and hassle of managing a private club,” said Judi.
Another hiccup from the city came when the Hoovers tried to add a few outdoor tables in
front of The Tavern. Bastrop claimed the sidewalk was city-owned and ordered the tables
removed. Yet now, some thirty years after that incident, Bastrop has come to fully support
its Main Street merchants and tourists. In 2020, the city council approved a facelift for its
venerable downtown. It voted to squeeze traffic lanes in order to widen sidewalks for pedestrians
and alfresco diners. Ironically, the City had to obtain easements to undertake the
redesign because Main Street sidewalks actually belonged to the property owners.
What most raised Judi’s ire was an unexpected “notice to appear” for an alleged “junk and
abandoned vehicles” violation at The Crossing.
To augment the historic character of the compound, The Hoovers added a few rusty Model
A cars and trucks to the landscaping.
“These old vehicles were loaned by our longtime friend, Billy Reed, and we thought of
them as precious pieces of history,” says the offended Judi. “I can’t repeat what I said to the
chief of police but we didn’t appear in court and never heard another word from the
city about those Model A’s.”

This restaurant was made from two barracks from Camp Swift.
The front structure was once the highschool football field house on Cedar Street.
The back half was moved from Peach Street off FM 1441 - Near Camp Swift.

Saved from the Dozer
Typical of the nearly 100 time worn homes and buildings in and around Bastrop
that Tommy and Judi Hoover have returned to life over the past 40 plus years is their
170-year-old residence at the northwest corner of the town’s vintage center.
The house had evolved from a double-pen dogtrot cabin with oversized, 19-footsquare
rooms shouldering a broad entry hallway. Built around 1850 by two brothers
of German descent, one a carpenter and the other a mason, the structure was in a sad
state of abandonment on the sandy ridge of a cattle ranch just west of town when
Tommy was first invited to look at it.
We took the porches off, stacked the bricks from the remaining fireplace, and laid
the roof down to get ready for the move to town.
“It was a mess inside and out,” he remembers of the 1986 visit. Cows had freely
made themselves at home. They’d traipsed up the sagging front steps and enjoyed the
shelter of its big rooms, covering plank floors with their manure. Hundreds of mud
dauber wasp nests plastered the walls.
Deer hunters who leased the ranch had attempted, with little talent, to decorate
interiors with camouflage paint. They had nailed a stick chair high on a wall as a
TV stand and elsewhere had mis-aimed so many dart throws that the walls were left
peppered with holes.
All he saw of value were four beautiful, handmade fireplace mantles. But
Hoover passed on the offer to take them, or the house. He and Judi
were busy enough with other projects -- at that time the most they
had yet taken on.
Leaving the Benight Ranch, headed down Erhardt Road (in two pieces) on its way to
Historic Wilson Street Bastrop, Texas.

Like a giant puzzle, carefully piecing it all back together
1316 Wilson St.

“It was clear to me now, there was nothing wrong with
the house. Not even the weight of a
cow herd had caused it to sag”
In 2009, Tommy was in need of mantles for a restoration
job in town when he remembered the beautiful fireplaces
in the ancient, oversized dogtrot-turned-cow barn he had
visited in the late 1980s. He returned to the property,
finding the mantles long gone. But this time he noted
having entirely missed seeing the most important asset of
the abused old house – that it was remarkably strong and
well built for its age.
Crawling underneath to poke around at the “bones” of
the structure, Tommy saw there was nothing wrong with
the house. “It was clear to me now that not even the
weight of a cow herd had caused it to sag,” he remembers.
He was amazed to find the house still well supported by hand
hewn cedar floor joists, mortised and pegged to heavy perimeter
beams of grayed live oak. Above the floor joists he noted the
undersides of skillfully milled floorboards; wide cuts of long-leaved
pine for the two big front rooms, and cedar planks for the two
rooms behind – so worn by feet and hooves that the knots were
raised. Most of the floor boards measured nearly 20 feet.
No major water nor termite damage was seen. And, when Tommy
peeled back some of the loose exterior siding, all of the pine wall
studs were revealed as straight and tight as ever.
By then the house was slated for demolition by
developers. So the Hoovers bought and had it
moved in two sections to an empty lot they had
purchased at the end of Wilson Street. It was
set to become their tenth Bastrop residence.
They changed the hipped roof over the front
porch to a more stately gable and framed the
once open dogtrot entry for a handsome old
double door with sidelights. To compliment
the symmetry of their house, the Hoovers
erected a tall brick chimney for each of the
two front rooms. They retained the formality
of those large spaces, adding period antiques,
rich leather couches, soft lighting and lush
wall colors.
Bones look perfect, even after 150 years!.
The double fireplace will become the
staircase entrance to the wine cellar.
Beautiful 10ft Tall Doors
after many layers of pint removed

Behind the paired rooms of the original dogtrot was a back porch which was partly taken over in the 1870s by
the addition of a kitchen. The Hoovers extended and incorporated this porch into the house as a large
sunroom, inviting light all the way into the interior adjoining rooms.
Attention is drawn in the kitchen to a pair of towering armoire doors that tuck away generous pantries.
They are matched by two others, one serving as the entry to the adjoining former 1870s kitchen-turned-bedroom,
the other as a pantry.
Since the lot slopes toward a wet weather creek behind the house, Tommy found enough headroom underneath
the rear of the house to create an intimate wine cellar and cushiony sitting space. The room is walled
by bricks salvaged from the only one of the dogtrot’s four original chimneys left standing. The space looks
up at the masterful fit of joists, beams and floorboards laid in the years just after the Texas Revolution and
now giving support into yet another century.
“People just rolled their eyes when we brought in the two sections of this old house,” remembers Tommy.
“They thought we’d reached the bottom of the barrel.”
“As the house was being rolled through town someone was overheard commenting: ‘Well, I wonder what the
Hoovers are gonna do with that pile of sticks,’” Judi adds with a wink.
At the end of a two-year labor of love, the Hoovers earned a house that retains the texture of time with its rich
woods and the shine of patina on old-time hardware. Its paneled doors, age-rippled window glass, simple antiques
and an assortment of found objects from over the years blend comfortably in rooms adapted for
modern lives.
In the years to follow, Wilson Street became the new addresses for other Hoover move-ins. Bringing
in an historic home to be restored sometimes meant buying a lot for it that was occupied by a more
contemporary structure. As was often the case, the modern house gets hauled to a younger and more
fitting neighborhood while the antique structure takes its place and settles in among its venerable contemporaries.
In both examples, the neighborhoods get “elevated,” Judi explains.
The slope of the land allowed us to create
a wine cellar under the back bedroom..

1316 Wilson
Built 1857
Moved to Bastrop and Restored 2010

We moved this house to a lot that had been abandoned and was totally covored in bamboo.
The 1887 bird’s eye view map shows a large house on the lot and we have found many
broken and rusted items in the dirt. The decks, paths, fountains and indiginous landscape
create an inviting setting for people and the many critters that visit us from the river by
way of the ajoining wet weather creek.

Originally a “Dogtrot”, with an open entyr hall, we inclosed the area using salvaged doors, trasom and sidelights. (top left)
The dinging and sunroom areas were origianlly the back porch of the home. The windows, doors and floors were salvaged from a near by farmhouse.

The unusually tall 10ft hand-made longleaf pine doors in the kitchen were....
We made the large dining room table and kitchen island using window jams and the porch ceiling joists from the house.

We cut large openings in two walls to create a great room effect. We rebuilt two of the 4 fireplaces using
stone we salvaged from the stagecoach stop’s giant fireplace where “River Crossing” sub-division has been
built. The mantles for both fireplaces were made by Tommy with slalvaged wood from this home.

The kitchen and back bedroom floors are well worn cedar planks, likely cut from trees on the property.
Smoothed knots in the cedar floor reveal over 165 years of wear.
The front 3 rooms are graced with original LobloloyPine floors, spanning over19ft in length.

The 11’7” tall ceilings in the original 4 room dogtrot helped keep the spaces cool during the hot Texas summers of the 1800’s.
Behind the brick flu we found this “1874” carving, which suggests they moved the kitchen indoors at that time. It was common practice to keep
kitchens as separate structures since they often burned.

The perimeter beams are live oak, likely cut on the property at the time of construction. They were hand hewed using a foot adz, shaping them into smooth square beams.
The floor joists are cedar and also likely cut on sight. The construction is notched and pegged (mortise and tenon) which made a beautiful ceiling for our cellar.
The sun dried bricks on the cellar walls were salvaged from the double fireplace once located where the staircase is now.

Up was the only direction left to go at 1503 Wilson Street
Up the street at 1503 Wilson, Tommy employed a couple of new techniques to adapt a four-room 1850s
cabin to the needs of its contemporary owners. First he pulled the cabin out of the brush above Bastrop’s
Fisherman’s Park, planning a new role for it as a large primary bedroom and sitting area.
Next, the Hoovers brought in a 1940s military barracks and attached it to the front of the cabin. Salvaged
from Bastrop’s WWII-era Camp Swift Army Base, the 1,000-square-foot barracks, constructed of everlasting
long-leaved pine, was envisioned by Tommy to comprise the main living and kitchen areas at the
girth of the house.
The assemblage was made complete by building outward, from the front of the barracks, a formal dining
room and generous porch.
Up was then the only direction left to go at 1503 Wilson, and there was plenty of space to utilize under
the sturdy barracks roof. So Tommy devised a plan with Raymond and Andrew to cut the roof from its
mooring atop the barracks walls, then move it out of the way while the crew framed a second story with
two bedrooms and a bath. A crane was hired to lift and set the roof in the front yard.
When it was time for the crane to hoist the 40-by-25-foot roof back in place, Hoover tied a rope to one
of its corners and balanced himself on top of the new second story wall plate. From his risky perch, Tommy
coaxed the roof into alignment for an exact and gentle landing atop the new wall.
“I was scared to death watching him up there,” recalls Judi. But she proudly added that the effort to
frame and re-roof the second story was completed in a weekend.
Joe Grady Tuck, a local attorney and seventh-generation Bastropian, is now the owner of the artfully
conjoined home. Tuck fondly remembers what his sage uncle, Vernon Tuck, muttered when he had
contracted with Tommy to purchase the home: “He said, you bought a Hoover home...?”
“Why that’s the smartest thing you ever did. That man’s a genius with wood!”
This little four room house from the mid 1800’s found itself in the way of the Bastrop’s new library
parking lot. We moved it around the corner and up the street where it became the primary suite at the
back of the house.

The front part of the house was a barrack from Camp Swift, which was relocated,
many years ago, to Hwy 95 - just north of the cemetery. We knew the structure could
hold a second story because of the quality of the materials and construction. We were
able to remove the roof in one piece, frame the second story then carefully reset the
roof ... all in one weekend!
The pine floors in the barracks were covered with
tiles for over 80 years. Removing the tile and glue
kept Tommy busy for weeks.

1503 Wilson
1860’s House + 1941 Barrack
Both moved and Restored 2006

Originally an 1941 Army Barracks from Camp Swift, we connected it to the Main Street
home of the Prenzell family. that dates back to the mid 1800’s, We also added a
second story which gave the improved structure a more fitting appearance for the neighborhood..

The 1800’s structure now houses the home’s primary suite
with doors that open to a large covered porch.

These beautiful doors were given to us by Bob Gay, who lived in the adjacent Orgain House.

Behind this door, under the staircase, we added our “signature power room”.

The exposed, hand hewed, beams came from a building that was torn
down at the NE corner of Chestnut and Main St. (The old Exxon Station)

The wide pine plank floors from the 1800’s structure show many burn
marks from the fireplace. You can also see the original squre nails used to
set the floor so many years ago.

“At first sight it was love, actually. From the carport to the
front porch swing, this place is magic”
Word gets around fast in a small town, especially when you’re folks like Tommy and Judi who are so
keen on saving antiquated properties. So when Tommy got wind that an1880s house was about to
give way to a new parking lot for a Smithville church, he jumped on it. He convinced the pastor that
it made more sense for him to move the house than for the church to pay for cleaning up the mess
of its demolition.
Tommy wryly admits: “We’ve done very well over the years by saving what churches, schools and
businesses have declared in the way of their parking lot expansion plans.”
So began the transformation of a Smithville “impediment” into an historic belle at 909 Buttonwood
in Bastrop – a simple but elegant two-story Hoover home that left former Austinites Jimmy
and Andrea Crouch star-struck when they first saw it in 2000.
“At first sight it was love, actually,” recollects Andrea. “From the carport to the front
porch swing, this place is magic.”
Outside, the old home retains much of its original looks. A welcoming 40-foot-long porch faces the street
and frames a polished antique front door and sets of refurbished old-time windows. Indoors, a central
hall gives way to sunbathed living, kitchen and dining areas; once separately walled in and now open
and spacious. A generous fireplace with an aged mantle draws together the adjoining kitchen and dining
room. At the back of the house, a second fireplace adorns the primary suite.
From a corner of the living room rises a stairway of gleaming, antique long-leaved pine. It leads
the way up to a set of bedrooms and a bath the Hoovers created after raising the gable of a new
roof to a 12-foot height.
“We’ve been so fortunate to live our lives inside the authentic, primitive, and yet highly stylized
and colored elegance that Tommy and Judi create in all of their homes,” Andrea continued. “Together
with the histories of their homes – their flooring, fireplace, woodwork, color schemes and
hardware – Hoover homes are set far apart from the rest.”
Typical of a house this age the foundation literally to sinks into the ground. The new elevated foundations
instantly gives the home new life and a great look.

This Victorian jewel had been well disguised over the years with the addition of variety of wall papers,
carpet, and someone’s idea of “shabby chic” kitchen cabinets.

605 Buttonwood
Built 1881 Restored: 1998
Moved from Smithville, Texas

The Cockrill House was loccated in Smithville, again in the way of a new church parking
lot. We were contacted and asked to move the house. Although the etched transom has
the date 1881, we quickly learned the back of the house was an early cabin, circa 1850’s

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We opened the back hall wall to create a “Great Room” effect. The wood from
that wall was used to build the entire staircase.

We build the kitchen cabinets, counter tops, and bar
with the wood from the wall we removed from the
kitchen and dining room.

Typically, homes from the 1800’s had “Boxy” floorplans with doors and halls
everywhere! A signature feature of our projects would typically involve removing
several walls to create a more open feel to the house.

The pine plank flooring in the primary suite show the many years of wear. We
raised and vaulted the ceiling which really complimented the added fireplace.

The attic of the front portion of the house was large enough to
accommodate the creation of two bedrooms, a bath and storage
bins along the landing.

Over time the house had grown to surround and conceal the sixteen-foot-square log cabin
In the rustic Warda community in 2014, Tommy and Judi came upon an aged farmhouse
that proved ideal to relocate to a deep lot they had purchased at 1305 Wilson Street, directly
across from their own residence. The farmhouse was moved in twosections, cut down
the middle of a wide central hallway, and its roof laid flat.
At its new location the two halves were rejoined and seamlessly attached to a two-bedroom
house which the Hoovers had already purchased and moved to the rear of the Wilson
Street lot. This structure was remodeled as a large first-floor primary suite with a spa-like
bath and walk-in closet. Once the Warda home was seamlessly attached to become the
front rooms of the house, it’s central hallway proved wide enough to accommodate a formal
dining area and a grand cedar plank stairway reaching up to the original attic. Here,
the Hoovers created space for an additional pair of bedrooms, bathroom and sitting area.
Restoration progress at the Warda home was gratifying but the work became downright
exciting when the preserved oak beams of an early-day log cabin emerged from hiding
inside the walls of a front room. Over time the house had grown to surround and conceal
the sixteen-foot-square log cabin.
“Right away we’d noticed how thick the walls were in the kitchen,” says Judi. “And even
though they had been covered up we knew there had to be a log home in there.”
As a striking contrast to the rest of the interior, the milled logs were cleaned and left in

place as a backdrop for the entry parlor, and as walls adding timeless character
to an island kitchen. The remains of the cabin give depth to the legacy
of the house. With the advance of time and the fortunes of a succession of
its occupants, all of the surrounding rooms of the house boast such “newer”
refinements as beadboard walls, fancy hardware, and tongue-and-groove pine
flooring.
“Living in this house is like living in a piece of artwork,” praises the owner,
Dr. Sandra Dunkin, local psychiatrist.
From the steps of her front porch, she gazes across the street at Tommy and
Judi’s home and adds: “I don’t know which is the greater experience, living
in an incredible Hoover home or being part of their lives and calling them
friends. I’m glad I don’t have to choose.”

1305 Wilson
1870’s Log Cabin/1890’s Farm House + 1940’s House
All moved and restored: 2016

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Originally, the “Road House” was the Engineer’s Office for TxDOT
we only had to move it 300 yards, where it sits today on Hwy 21

Other Projects

“Once that sawdust gets in your system, it’s hard to shake....”
After a long and successful career that has resulted in renewed lives for scores of aging structures, the Hoover’s creative spark is undiminished.”
“We’re as motivated as ever,” confesses Judi. “But age is becoming a factor and so we’re trying to be more careful and selective about the projects we
choose to take on.”
As much a means for anchoring their legacy as to pass it along for the fulfillment of a younger generation, in 202, the Hoovers sold The Crossing to
the long term tenant of several of its businesses. A few years before, they handed over the keys to The Tavern and the restored properties clustered
behind it on Pine Street to a promising young man with extraordinary entrepreneurial and construction talents.
“We sold those properties not to retire – which we can’t yet seem to figure out how to do – but rather to offer opportunities for the businesses
housed in these structures and for the new owner-innovators to grow and continue to succeed into the future,” declares Judi.
“They’re the ones with the ideas and energy who are now creating businesses relevant to our growing and changing community,” asserts Judi as she
stands with her husband and partner surveying The Crossing, its popular restaurant and cluster of brightly restored buildings occupying what had
been a riverside gully.
“We cannot imagine having spent the past four decades doing anything more fun, challenging and rewarding than bringing new life to all of these
amazing old structures.”
“Once that sawdust gets in your system, it’s hard to shake,” she exclaims.
-ROBERT W. PARVIN

The Hands & Hearts
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Roy Juarez
Roy was the first carpenter we worked with and we learned many things from him. He was in great
demand and we had to wait many months to get him on our project. He was a master at using old materials….very
carefully. He was getting up in years when we met and by that time he had a crew of 2 or
3 helpers who did the heavy lifting. He did all of the thinking and some of the work while teaching the
crew something new each day. We were thrilled to be the extra help and enjoyed his stories during the
coffee breaks twice a day and an hour long lunch daily. This was his way of working and we went along
with whatever he wanted….he was that good! He normally made a small fire in the morning and would
heat coffee and his lunch on the coals. Roy had a great sense of humor and we enjoyed our time with him
for a few years on several projects.
Charlie Pacheco
Charlie worked for Roy Juarez for several years and was a very talented carpenter. He came to work with
us after Roy retired in the early 1980’s. Charlie had one speed….high gear! He took very short and very
few breaks, unlike his mentor. Charlie took such great pride in his work which he did with great enthusiasm
and care. He was a humble man who always wanted to please us. He was a prince of man and we
feel very fortunate to have worked with him for many years on many projects. Most of all, we developed
mutual respect and a lasting friendship.
Raymond Ramon
We got to know Raymond while he worked with Charlie Pacheco on our projects. When Charlie went to
work for the school district, Raymond came to work with us and stayed until he retired. We enjoyed teasing
Raymond about his claim that he would retire when he wore out his suspenders. All the while, he got
a new set about every two years! Raymond had spent some time working with Roy Juarez and he knew
how to use old materials expertly. He spent 20 years working with us on many of our 100+ projects, small
and large. Raymond was an excellent carpenter, took great pride in his work, and with the added bonus of
being easy to get along with and wanting to please, he was a treasure to us.

Andrew Gonzales
Roy was the first carpenter we worked with and we learned many things from him. He was in great
demand and we had to wait many months to get him on our project. He was a master at using old materials….very
carefully. He was getting up in years when we met and by that time he had a crew of 2 or
3 helpers who did the heavy lifting. He did all of the thinking and some of the work while teaching the
crew something new each day.
John Ray
Roy was the first carpenter we worked with and we learned many things from him. He was in great
demand and we had to wait many months to get him on our project. He was a master at using old materials….very
carefully. He was getting up in years when we met and by that time he had a crew of 2 or
3 helpers who did the heavy lifting. He did all of the thinking and some of the work while teaching the
crew something new each day.
Rufrio “Cuco” Urbina
Charlie worked for Roy Juarez for several years and was a very talented carpenter. He came to work with
us after Roy retired in the early 1980’s. Charlie had one speed….high gear! He took very short and very
few breaks, unlike his mentor. Charlie took such great pride in his work which he did with great enthusiasm
and care. He was a humble man who always wanted to please us. He was a prince of man and we
feel very fortunate to have worked with him for many years on many projects. Most of all, we developed
mutual respect and a lasting friendship.
Benita Reyna
We got to know Raymond while he worked with Charlie Pacheco on our projects. When Charlie went to
work for the school district, Raymond came to work with us and stayed until he retired. We enjoyed teasing
Raymond about his claim that he would retire when he wore out his suspenders. All the while, he got
a new set about every two years! Raymond had spent some time working with Roy Juarez and he knew
how to use old materials expertly. He spent 20 years working with us on many of our 100+ projects, small
and large. Raymond was an excellent carpenter, took great pride in his work, and with the added bonus of
being easy to get along with and wanting to please, he was a treasure to us.