Heritage Park being dismantled for the Oaks development
By: Jerry Flook, Garland Historian
Published in the Garland-Rowlett Messenger, March 2013
Have you ever stopped to wonder which might be the oldest house in Garland? Although I do not have incontrovertible proof of the answer to that question, I can name the two strongest candidates. One is the so-called Lyles House, which for several years has been located in Heritage Park adjacent to the Landmark Museum. The other is the house at 820 W. Avenue E. These two residences are different in their materials and design but what can be gleaned about the history of their ownership suggests that both were constructed sometime in the 1870s, and if so, they are older than Garland itself, which dates from 1887.
The “Lyles” House has gone by the Lyles name for many years owing to its having been owned by several generations of that family. It was, however, built originally by William A. Tinsley, and thus is referred to here more correctly as the Tinsley House. W. A. Tinsley in December 1871 purchased 73-1/3 acres of the J. Crumpacker 320-acre headright from Daniel H. Blue (G. H. Blue was an heir of James L. Blue, assignee of Crumpacker’s land certificate, and one of the earliest settlers of this area). The Tinsley family came here in 1868 from Blacksburg, Virginia, settling briefly on land buying the Crumpacker-Blue tract. In April 1885 W. A. Tinsley and wife Luvenia sold a portion of their Crumpacker-Blue tract to the Santa Fe Railroad for right-of-way and location of a new railroad town to be named Embree. Somewhat later Tinsley platted his own development adjoining Embree on the north and lying on the line of the MK&T railroad. Tinsley named his new town Duck Creek. So in effect Historic Downtown Garland (which formed from the consolidation of Embree and Duck Creek) lies almost wholly on land either sold to the railroad by William A. Tinsley or personally developed by him.
Now, what evidence exists suggesting that the so-called Lyles House is actually the W. A. Tinsley House? Of course, deed records rarely mention anything about the house or other specific improvements attached to a particular tract of land. However, there is evidence in the Garland News showing that W. A. Tinsley’s house and Lyles House are one and the same. In 1902 the News reported that “R. H. Lyles has purchased the W. A. Tinsley two-story [story-and-a-half?] house and nine acres in East Garland.” Then in May 1906 the paper mentioned that Charley Lyles [son of R. H. Lyles] had moved into the Tinsley residence and still later that year that “Charley Lyles has moved the Tinsley house to another lot in East Garland.” Lyles’s house apparently remained at that latter location (on Austin Street between the Santa Fe tracks and First Street) before being moved to its present location at Heritage Park about 1979.
So the “Lyles” House is actually the Tinsley House, but when was it built? One would assume that W. A. Tinsley built his home on the Crumpacker-Blue tract soon after purchasing the land in 1871. The milled lumber from which the house is constructed could have been transported by ox wagon from Jefferson or could have been brought into Dallas by rail with the coming of the railroads beginning in 1872. Its board-and-batten exterior wall construction would have been an economical and feasible type of construction during the time period of limited supply of milled material. The house is vernacular Gothic design and originally had two-level front porch. The heavy porch supports shown in old photos were removed and replaced with lighter material when the house was moved to its present location.
The historic house at 820 Avenue E is of a finer design than the Tinsley House, being a full two-story structure with evidence of having had Victorian exterior ornamentation and having horizontal siding. There is also evidence of its having had a two-level front porch, which has now been totally removed. Its refinement of design suggests a later origin than that of the Tinsley House, but the difference in time of construction.
There is little doubt that the Avenue E house was built for the family of G. W. Pace. It stands on a tract inherited by Pace’s wife, Harriet, from her father, G. W. Routh. It is known that the home of Harriet’s parents was on another tract of land nearby, so the house was not originally the G. W> Routh residence. G. W. Pace and Hattiet Routh were married in 1870. The vernacular Victorian design and materials used in the construction of the house suggest that it was built in the late 1870s or even early 1880s, certainly after the advent of rail transportation as near as Dallas.
Garland is truly fortunate to have these two venerable structures with almost certainly predate Garland itself. The preservation of both of them should be a priority of our community. […] However, the future of the Tinsley House is now in the hands of the people of Garland.
Despite the City having enthusiastically accepted the gist of the Tinsley House in 1979, it has subsequently allowed it to fall into dilapidation and now says it is too deteriorated to save. It hardly makes sense that the City would have accepted ownership without also accepting the responsibility of maintaining it, but apparently no funds were ever budgeted for its ongoing care. Something to consider if you ever think about gifting a historic structure to your city.
The historic significance of the house was recognized in the Dallas County Historic Resource Survey of 1982. But now the City no longer sees any value in preserving this structure – a structure even older than the City itself. Now that Heritage Park is being dismantled for the Oaks development, the house faces demolition at the hands of the City. If you care about the historic Tinsley House and its role in the early development of Garland and wish to see it preserved by the City, please contact your Councilperson before it is too late.
“When we lose a historic place, we lose a part of who we are.” – National Trust for Historic Preservation
[The Tinsley-Lyles House was demolished in May 2023 after a vote from City Council]