714 Bluebell Road

This ranch-style house at 714 Bluebell Road was built in 1950 or '51. The tax records say 1952, but since the first owners  arrived in Kerrville in 1950 and were settled enough in the house to host the Blue Bell Hills Garden Club in October of 1951, that date is clearly wrong.  George and Roberta S. Harley were the first owners.  I have not been able to learn who built the house, but I do know the Harleys purchased the property from the developer of Blue Bell Hills--realtor G. C. McCoy.  The house has been described as "solid" and well-built.  This house has beautiful shade trees in front, which unfortunately kept me from getting a good clear photo. It's better to take these photos in winter when the leaves are off.

George Foster Harley was a civil engineer with a specialty in hydraulics, supervising the construction of hydro-electric dams in several states.  In 1950 he retired from the Public Works Administration and came to Kerrville where he died in 1957.  Roberta Harley continued to live in this house until 1975 when she moved to Midland. They are buried in a family plot in Columbus, Georgia.

Cleo and Frank Prestwood were the next owners. A local newspaper noted that her collection of Lalique glassware was the centerpiece of the home they had furnished with a mix of antiques and modern furniture.  He worked in the wholesale grocery business, retiring in 1974 and moving to Kerrville. Prestwood married Cleo Burke, who was from Houston, after he retired.  A member of the Texas Rose Growers Association, his avocation was growing roses. Mentions of their home in the newspaper often included a description of the many roses used to decorate. Although it is never stated, I would not be surprised if these were his roses.  Prestwood died in 1989 and is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler.  His widow kept the house three more years before selling. She died in 1996 and is buried in Galveston.