KOCH/TYNES/PRATT HOUSE
512 E. Blanco

DESCRIPTION: Symmetrical stone house; two front doors and windows; outside stairs to attic on east side; chimney on gabled roof. Plastered walls over rock.

HISTORY: Anita McDonald wrote the following about this house in 1979: "If one did not know by looking at abstract office records, that the original part of this house was 116 years old and had changed owners twenty-five times, you would think it had been built about twenty-five years ago. It is in excellent condition, shows no sign of ever having been levelled and no cracks in the walls or ceiling that might give evidence to weakness in structure. The house is built facing south and very close to the street, therefore, a very small front yard. You walk up to a porch that runs the full length of the original house. The floor of the porch that now has a cement floor, must at one time have had a floor of native field stone. As you walk through the front door you immediately notice the thickness of the walls by seeing the depth of the window seats. You are pleasantly surprised at the spacious interior since the house seems so small from the outside. The dimensions of the front part measures approximately 25 by 13 feet, and originally consisted of two rooms, the larger about 13 feet in length and the other about 12 feet. These rooms were divided by a wall 15 inches thick but was removed by the Tynes family in order to make a spacious living-dining room combination. A third room, the kitchen, dimensions 16 feet by 12 feet is added to the back of the two front rooms. It has the same deep walls but the ceiling is much lower, which tends to give it a "lean to" look. The only entry from the inside to the kitchen was by a door from the larger room. Since there have been so many renovations an alterations since the time it was built, it is hard to tell where the doors were that opened to the yard. In the back yard is an old well that is now boarded up for safety but could actually be activated if necessary. For many years it was used as a community well--the only source of water for many Boerne families. Beside the well stands a huge mulberry tree that by the looks of the immense twisted trunk and its great gnarled limbs, it could well be as old as the house and just as alive since it is as lush with leaves and fruit as any of the younger trees in the yard. There have been many alterations and renovations made on this house. The Tynes family made the most when they purchased the house in 1922." The Tynes added a fireplace into the west wall with two small windows cut on either side of it. Bedrooms and a bath were added on the east side and upstairs. The next owners, Mr. & Mrs. W. C. Pratt, have gone to great pains and a good deal of expense to retain the period look of the old part of the house.