HISTORY

The written record of the chain of title to the property started in 1887 when the land, on which the house was eventually built, was sold from Irons & Graham to D.A.T Walton. That chain of title continued until 1904 when Henry J. Graham sold the property to Charles F. Schwarz. In 1904, at the age of 36, Charles F. Schwarz (1868-1944) , son of Franz Peter Schwarz (1841-1921) and Friedericka Louise Lenz (1851-1933) built the original house on the property at 202 Yoalana. It was a modest "T" shaped wooden structure three-room house with a front room, combination dining room-kitchen, and one bedroom. The original house had an old fireplace that was removed in later remodeling. The original house had a water well that is still in use today. The house was located about a block west of Cibolo Creek and ( what is now) the Boerne Square. In those days, a very big farm implement barn (also owned by Charles F. Schwarz) was just east of the house located between the house and Cibolo Creek. Charles F. Schwarz and his wife Louise Pfeiffer (1878-1959), daughter of Ernst Moritz Pfeiffer (1853-1912) and Helene Voelcker (1856-1935), lived in this house for many years and later the title to the house passed to their son Harry Schwarz (1918-1975). In the 1950s Harry Schwarz built a house addition converting the original "T" shaped house design to an "H" shaped design. At that time, Harry Schwarz skillfully added native Texas rock to the entire exterior of the house. The rock work was completed in a very craftsman-like manner with liberal use of "cave balls", petrified wood, fossils, and other occasional artistic stones. Also at this time, a matching unique original rock pillar fence was built with "cave balls' in 9 of the 14 rock pillars.,/p>

In 1996 the house was sold to Brian Jeter. Brian is a highly-respected hill country craftsman who lived in the house and meticulously restored / renovated the entire house over a four year period. Brian's superb craftsmanship can be seen inside and out. Some of Brian's work includes: structure re-enforcement throughout; complete re-wiring & re-plumbing; new roof with roof vents, new matching rock garage (with antique shiplap pine ceiling and half-walls); new pebble-finished driveway and sidewalks; unique landscaping; red cedar fence pickets between 14 rock pillars; red cedar privacy fence on back and south side; old style shutters; painted exterior in period colors; all new appliances; all new insulated windows & screens; exterior lighting and highlight lighting; added metal Texas stars to the front exterior of both wings and the garage; raised all the ceilings to 11 feet; modernized the two bathroom including adding an antique bath tub, antique vanity mirror, and antique wooden medicine cabinet; traveled widely throughout the area gathering antique architectural materials to install in the house; antique beaded board wainscot on the lower 1/2 of the dining room walls; period wallpaper on the upper 1/2 of the dining room walls; pealed-off several coats of paint on circa 1920s metal ceiling tiles and installed them on the 11 foot dining room ceiling; added new drywall and painted throughout; added old style lace window shades; refinished the old oak floors and added a high luster finish; added antique long-leaf pine floors in the kitchen; added recessed lighting in 3 rooms; added an antique chandelier and other antique light fixtures in the dining room; cut tall interior doorways to create a wide-open look; added a box style front closet with a separate lower ceiling; added antique English stained glass in the kitchen and master bath; used antique shiplap pine in the 11 foot ceilings of one bedroom, the kitchen, and the guest bath; added antique shiplap pine to the interior walls of 3 closets; added antique bead board to the 11 foot ceiling of one of the guest bedrooms; installed ceiling fans in 4 rooms; installed 1/2 wall antique captain's pine paneling in one guest bedroom; added a sound system to the front room; and installed an antique bead board ceiling to the front porch; installed a pickle-finish 11 foot pine ceiling in the master bedroom and the front room; and restored a large unique antique river bottom stone patio . In August of 2002 Brian Jeter sold the house to John and Nancy Miller who are continuing to further restore the house.

Source: John E. Miller