Remodeling Our House

Last Updated: Friday, 09-Jan-2004 02:27:03 MST

A Little Bit of History

This house was built in 1937 by William Henry "Willie" and Lola Belle Smelley in Southwestern Harrison County near the border of Gregg County.  I do know that Willie's cousin Sam Smelley also helped to build the house.  Willie and Lola Belle were previously living in Longview, but moved to help Mama Smelley work the farm and the dairy barn after the death of his father Will Smelley.  My fahter n law, Mack, was born in this house in 1938.  The old dairy barn is still standing on the property and was last used by Nanny to dry her clothes when Willie bought her a dryer.  Nanny never washed her families clothes on anything else but a old ringer washer that finally broke down in the mid 1990s and her grandson took up her washing and drying for her until her death in 2002.  The dairy barn was later used to store square hay bails in.  At one time this house was surrounded by pine trees and a orchard was located behind the barn in back of the house.  The house sits next to the Alpine Golf Course.

William Henry "Will" Smelley, Sr. owned 441 acres of property in Harrison County and built Smelley Road.  He recieved his first acreage from his father Jacob Jasper Smelley and then went on to buy surrounding property until he had accumulated the 441 acres.  A Conservation Plan Map from 1946 shows all the property that Will owned.  When the property was devided up between their children each recieved about 63 acres.  Willie chose his parcel of land first and the rest of his siblings were then allowed to choose their parcel.  Since that time the Jay Valley Church was built on that portion of  property belonging to A. J. Smelley and  in the early 1990s Nanny Pearl Smelley Crain deeded the property across the street from the church for the Crain/Smelley Cemetery.  To this date there are 3 family members buried in the cemetery; T. R. Crain, Clarence Young, and Anna Satterwhite Smelley.  Only Willie's portion of the property remains if tact today, as all the rest of his siblings have had parts of their portion sold and one sister's property is now owned by a local businessman.
 

Remodeling from October 2003 - Unknown
 
 
 

Click all photos if you would like to view a larger photo.
 

Friday, December 05, 2003
All the electricity has been rewired by Mack's cousin, Tommy.  In trade for the electrical work Mack will clear a lot for Tommy.

Floor Plan

Renee's Family Genealogy