Mosty Brothers Nursery, Center Point

These photos were taken at the Mosty Brothers Nursery in Center Point.  Mosty Brothers Nursery started in Kerrville in 1897.  In 1908 a second location was added in Center Point.  The Kerrville location, primarily a retail operation, closed in 1985. The Center Point location is a wholesale business.

Water tank. Concrete base is original.

The large, two-story residence at the front of the property was built in 1927 in a pecan orchard at a final cost of about $12,000. The architect and contractor was W. W. Miller of Kerrville.  An elevated water tank, still in use, has been there since the earliest days.  There are smaller post-World War II residences; and greenhouses on the property date back more than 60 years. The business has been in continuous operation by one family for more than a century. During that time the Mostys have been innovators in developing new plant varieties and leaders in their industry’s trade and professional organizations. In 1936 Mosty Brothers Nurseries of Kerrville and Center Point won the contract to supply the landscaping used at the Texas Centennial Central Exposition grounds. To fulfill the contract they shipped six railway carloads and ten truck loads of shrubbery to Dallas. The landscaping featured native shrubs. Today this site is Fair Park, home of the State Fair of Texas.

 In the spring of 2013, the business was awarded a “Texas Treasures Business Award” from the Texas Historical Commission for businesses existing for more than 50 years.

Greenhouses.  Hail storms destroyed the original glass roofs years ago.

612 Earl Garrett Street

1929, Kerr County Historical Commission collection

In December 1924, in response to development that was occurring just outside the downtown area, the City of Kerrville sought bids for street improvements, curbing and paving on Earl Garrett Street. This house was one of a number of buildings going up at that time, mostly in the Craftsman bungalow style.  Many of the houses erected at that time remain. This stretch of Earl Garrett Street today features 80 and 90 year old homes and is referred to as the Garden District.

This is one of those rare instances where we know who did the landscaping. The sepia tone photo was taken in 1929 for Mosty Nursery and Landscaping as a record of their work. While the landscaping is vastly different today, the exterior of the house is little changed over the years.

Dr. J. E. McDonald purchased this property April 22, 1921, for $900 from E. H. Prescott, who had purchased it a year earlier from Charles Schreiner.  While is very likely this Craftsman bungalow was built in 1920 or 1921, I have not been able to determine the exact date and therefore am uncertain whether the house was built by Prescott or McDonald.
Dr. Mcdonald lived here briefly with his first wife Izma. After they divorced she and their son Joseph, Jr., continued to make this their home until he graduated from Tivy High School.  She then moved to San Antonio in late 1941.

Dr. McDonald's second wife, and mother of his second son, Charles Edward, was Lillian.  They also lived in Kerrville.  Dr. McDonald died of a heart attack in March 1940 while in San Antonio.

This house was featured in the December 1998 American Bungalow magazine.