Alfred Sutton Bloor and Martha Wainwright
Bloor, along with their two oldest sons, moved from Pennsylvania to Texas in
1878 and lived in a log cabin on Gilleland Creek. The Bloors later moved to
a home they built a short distance west of the log cabin, where they lived
while four more sons were born.
In February 1897, Martha Bloor negotiated
with Addison E. Lane to purchase the lot where the Bloor House now sits. This piece
of land wasn’t in the 80 blocks of the original town platt of Manor. It was a 250
feet square in block 8 of the new 20 block subdivision made by A. E. Lane on 38.75
acres of land that he purchased in 1881 from James Manor, which was added to
the original town land in 1912. Before
this land was added, Rector Street was the northern limit of Manor, but in 1897 it was the first street south of the newly-purchased Bloor property.
A July 19, 1897 newspaper said, “Improvements in Manor still continue. Mr. A.
S. Bloor will commence this week to build a fine two story brick residence,
which will surpass any yet built in Manor.”
Alfred Bloor contracted with Elgin Press
Brick Company to build the home.
On August 12th, the newspaper
said, “Mr. A. S. Bloor of Manor is going
to erect a fine and handsome residence, to cost about $10,000, and the contract
has been let to Mr. Charles Ledbetter, a well-known and skilled mechanic of
this city. He will begin work at once.”
An August 26th update read, “Work is being pushed on the excavation for
the foundation of the Bloor residence, which is to cost $15,000 when completed”
Construction was swift and by September 1st
brick laying began around the framework of the house. On October 3rd,
the newspaper reported; “Work on the
Bloor residence is progressing rapidly.”
On November 11th, an article in
the Houston Daily Post stated; “Contractor
C. P. Ledbetter is pushing work on the A. S. Bloor building and has given labor
to all who were loafing and wanted to work.”
The house
was finished in what seems like record time and the Bloors moved into their new
home sometime in 1898, along with 4 surviving sons.
The house originally
had two identical chimneys on the north and south sides and was said to have
seven original fireplaces, but at some time the south chimney, which provided
fireplaces for the living room downstairs and the master bedroom upstairs, was
removed. It is said that two fireplace mantels were traded to local residents -
one for a horse.
In addition
to the main dwelling, three other buildings were constructed. One was a 10x12
frame building used as a garden house.
Another, 18x20 feet in area, was to be the
carriage house.
The third building was a two-story frame house, 24x40 feet in
area which was built as a gymnasium for the children in the family. This building is visible in the 1897 construction photo above.
Martha lived in the home until her death on February 7, 1928 at
which time ownership passed to her youngest son, Bertram H. Bloor, Sr., who was a
lawyer in Austin.
Both Alfred and Martha are buried in Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Austin, TX.
The Bloor House was designated an Official Texas Historical Building in 1982 and received this marker.
Been in that house as a kid. At the time was inhabited by a family whose last name was Bowdy.
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