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The HOMEPLACE

The Caruth Homeplace property includes not only the gracious Main House, but the 1852 Old Farmhouse and other features that make it a window into the world of a bygone era in Dallas history. View a map of the grounds.

The Old Farmhouse

The Old Farmhouse, circa 1852, is one of the oldest structures in Dallas. It’s not clear whether the Old Farmhouse was on the property when William Barr Caruth bought the original tract in 1852 or whether a Caruth cousin built it shortly thereafter. Regardless, William Barr Caruth moved into the Old Farmhouse in 1858. After he married Mattie Worthington in 1864, they lived in the Farmhouse together for several years.

 

The Main House: 1872 Construction

By around 1872, William Barr and Mattie had outgrown the Old Farmhouse. So Mattie designed a grander home, based on the gracious Antebellum plantation houses she remembered from her Mississippi girlhood. One account says Mattie drew the plans for the elegant house in the dirt, telling workers “I want a 15-foot-square room in this corner, and a 15-foot-square room in that corner. I want fireplaces in each room and a close pass-through. And I want the same things on the other side of the house.”

 

The Main House: 1938 Renovation

In 1905, William and Mattie's only son, William Walter, and his new bride, Earle Clark Caruth, made the Main House their home, eventually using it primarily as a summer residence, maintaining another home “in the city.” In 1938, they undertook a major renovation and decided to live in the Main House year round. They hired the Dallas architectural firm of Thompson and Perry, and Will Jr. acted as the general contractor. A decision was made to renovate the home in the Neo-Colonial style popular at the time.

 

The Main House: 1968-90s Renovations

Upon inheriting Caruth Homeplace from his grandmother Earle, George Caruth renovated the Main House to meet the needs of a modern family. These renovations, beginning in 1968, included converting the upstairs sleeping porch to a nursery, converting the screened porch to a media room, and creating a mud room near the garage.

The Main House: 2008 Renovation & Restoration

Eventually, the property was acquired by Communities Foundation of Texas. In 2008, CFT turned to the Herndon, Stauch & Associates architecture firm to help restore Caruth Homeplace to its 1938 Neo-Colonial splendor. To honor the Caruth’s commitment to philanthropy – and to help fund the ongoing care of the Homeplace – the space was also designed to house two major Dallas philanthropic foundations – the Summerlee Foundation and the Hoblitzelle Foundation.