Editor Pick
Alley-Carlson House
- December 7, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
carolynann831 from Jefferson, Texas
Alley-Carlson House, the first of the four homes we toured on the annual Christmas Candlelight tour in Jefferson, Texas, was built in 1849 by Daniel Alley, one of Jeffersons founders.(tour cost $15 adults, $2 children under 10) One of the oldest surviving homes in Texas, this Greek Revival house is on the National Register of Historic Places, along with 16 other homes and buildings in Jeffeson.
The house was given to the builders son, Daniel Alley, jr., as a wedding gift. He and his wife spent their honeymoon in New Orleans where she bought furniture for the house, which was shipped by river to Jefferson. (During the 1800's, Jefferson served as a major inland river port with direct access to the shipyards in New Orleans. As a result, building styles here exhibit a strong New Orleans influence.) This furniture remains in the house today, and most pieces are sitting exactly where they were placed all those years ago. This is due to the fact that the home remained in the same family until 1991 when it was donated to the Jefferson Historical Society.
For the Christmas tour, the home is decked in live greenery and candles both inside and out as are all the homes on this tour. Once inside, to the left of the front entry is the parlor which holds the sofa and center table brought to the home from that trip to New Orleans. A fascinating feature in the room is a small door several feet off the floor. Since we were touring during the Christmas holidays, it was explained that this was Santa's access to the room.
Beyond the parlor is a bedroom with painted wood walls and an interesting piece of furniture. A display table is an original wooden crate used for shipping the newlyweds gifts and furniture by steamboat to Jefferson.
An intersting fact about the kitchen in this home is that it isn't original to the home. When the home was built, it was common to have a separate building used for the kitchen because kitchens posed the highest risk of fires. The food was brought to the home through a backdoor leading to a serving room. That room was later converted to the kitchen.
I would recommend touring this home and others in Jefferson to anyone interested in history, especially american archetectural styles. For a special treat, I definitely recommend seeing these homes all decked out for the Christmas holidays. In 2006, the home was purchased by a couple who are in the process of rennovations. Currently their are no regularly scheduled tours for the Alley-Carlson House, but the town of Jefferson has two events each year that offer tours of the towns historic homes. In addition to the Christmas Candlelight tour, another historic home tour occurs each May during the Jefferson Pilgrimage. For more information on historic tours in Jefferson, Tx visit on the web at www.jefferson-texas.com or contact by phone at 903-665-2672 or 888-GO RELAX.
From journal Jefferson-Candles, Homes, and History