Hoover House Reading Book Reduced

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.