Hartgrove House Moves To San Angelo

On the road, again... This ol' house is coming home!

A once majestic, turn of the century Victorian home will soon begin inching its way through mesquite, cactus and vast pasturelands in an eye-catching, traffic stopping, homecoming journey to San Angelo. Its final destination is the Old Town Historic District in El Paseo de Santa Angela, where the house will ultimately become an important representative in a growing collection of architectural styles of early San Angelo. That's the goal of several historic preservation groups involved in ongoing local and national fund raising efforts to fully restore this historical landmark.

The house was constructed in San Angelo in the early 1900's for the George Allen family and was originally located on West Twohig Avenue. It is believed that Oscar Ruffini, the city's first architect, was in charge of design and construction. In the late 1960's, under threat of destruction, the Horace Hartgrove family bought and saved the house by moving it to their Concho County ranch near Millersview. In 1998, heirs of the Hartgrove Estate donated the house to the San Angelo Old Town Conservancy, Inc. With assistance from the City of San Angelo, Historic San Angelo, Inc., a Community Development Block Grant and much-needed donations from other organizations and individuals, the house will begin its return trip to San Angelo the week of March 8th.

When restoration is completed, the Allen-Hartgrove Victorian home will be offered for lease and will complement an area of growing importance in San Angelo: Nearby are the new San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and the Fort Concho National Historic Landmark, as well as two other restored buildings - the Baker building, an 1880's bank and a quaint, small residence, also built in the 1880's.

In charge of overseeing the project is local architect Gary Donaldson, a director of the San Angelo Old Town Conservancy, Inc. Other involved Conservancy directors are Bob Pfluger, Gary McClure, Len Mertz, Barbara Odum, Tim Edwards, Stephen Brown, Margaret Mallard and Donna Crisp.

Jim Sanderson and his wife Mary have overseen and done much of the work on this TOTAL renovation of the Hartgrove House, we could not have done this job without their able assistance, devotion and dedication to the job. Historic San Angelo, Inc. and the citizens of San Angelo will be forever grateful to them.

San Angelo Residence
This building was a very small residence moved to Old Town for preservation. The city has refitted it for use as a Public Restroom. It is referred to now as "The Potty House".

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Baker Building
The Baker Bldg was the first building moved to Old Town and was San Angelo's first bank. Recent storm damage necessitated extensive repair on the front of the building. The picture to the left was taken after the repairs were made.