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Park home to houses built to last, defeat Ike
By YVETTE OROZCO
Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on many homes throughout Pasadena, but at Heritage Park and Museum, a few shingles here and there made little difference.
That’s because the three homes on the corner of Eagle and Main have seen it all.
It has been more than 100 years since the homes were built, and that means over ten decades of hurricane winds blowing through the area, including the secondary impact felt by the Galveston hurricane of 1900, during which time two of the homes were under construction.
While Ike blew the sign off the local Burger King, or the roof top of a local gas station, and while a scattering of trees toppled throughout the area, the Pomeroy House, the Strawberry House and Anna’s House all remain intact, except for the four or five shingles off the Pomeroy home.
Part of being a local historian is becoming an expert on many levels.
Edna Pierce is that resident expert, on history, furniture, wood, trees and anything that pertains to the Heritage Park and Museum property.
Pierce turned her love of local history into a business that would set the standard for local research and preservation.
“It took me a long time, but I’m glad I did it now,” she said, laughing.
Pierce takes pride in demonstrating the physical durability of the past.
The reason the homes have withstood time and outlasted Mother Nature’s wear and tear, she said, is simple.
“The houses back then had better construction,” she said.
Pierce points to the original interior of the Pomeroy home, with its scarred, but strong heart-pine wood.
“The homes were built from the strongest part of the long-leaf pine tree wood,” she said as she thumps a hand on the wall. “This is solid wood.”
While a few shingles on the outside may have disappeared along with Ike, Pierce sees the homes’ strength as a sign that they will outlast anything.
“They were just built to last,” she said.
That’s because the three homes on the corner of Eagle and Main have seen it all.
It has been more than 100 years since the homes were built, and that means over ten decades of hurricane winds blowing through the area, including the secondary impact felt by the Galveston hurricane of 1900, during which time two of the homes were under construction.
While Ike blew the sign off the local Burger King, or the roof top of a local gas station, and while a scattering of trees toppled throughout the area, the Pomeroy House, the Strawberry House and Anna’s House all remain intact, except for the four or five shingles off the Pomeroy home.
Part of being a local historian is becoming an expert on many levels.
Edna Pierce is that resident expert, on history, furniture, wood, trees and anything that pertains to the Heritage Park and Museum property.
Pierce turned her love of local history into a business that would set the standard for local research and preservation.
“It took me a long time, but I’m glad I did it now,” she said, laughing.
Pierce takes pride in demonstrating the physical durability of the past.
The reason the homes have withstood time and outlasted Mother Nature’s wear and tear, she said, is simple.
“The houses back then had better construction,” she said.
Pierce points to the original interior of the Pomeroy home, with its scarred, but strong heart-pine wood.
“The homes were built from the strongest part of the long-leaf pine tree wood,” she said as she thumps a hand on the wall. “This is solid wood.”
While a few shingles on the outside may have disappeared along with Ike, Pierce sees the homes’ strength as a sign that they will outlast anything.
“They were just built to last,” she said.
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