Weekly Acorn #24
Well, I am interrupting the Neighborhood Boundries series once again to bring you the sad news that Oak Crest has lost another house. On January 26 of this year Maple Springs United Methodist Church had the little house at 189 Crepe Myrtle Cr torn down. It sat behind the larger house at 187 Crepe Myrtle Cr. Unfortunately, on Thursday, March 27 they had the larger house torn down.
The house was built in 1950 by Ray E and Jennie L (Louella) Cornelius. They had built the little house behind it a few years earlier just after WWII out of salvage building materials. Then they built this as their dream house a few years later.
After the Cornelius’s deaths Maple Springs purchased the property in October 2006. They have told residents on Crepe Myrtle Cr that they plan to put a meditation garden on the property.
You can learn more about this property in Weekly Acorn #15 .
Click on the photos above to view an expanded version or visit the entire Historic Oak Crest Photo Gallery. Additional photos of this property are available in the Crepe Myrtle Cr and Other Photos sections of the gallery.
The residents of the neighborhood are devastated by the loss of such a beautiful home. They/we all feel that the church could have considered other alternatives that would have prevented such a well built house from being demolished.
I will say this again, as we anticipate historic designation in the near future, I feel it is important that we as a community take a stand and try to keep the demolition and deterioration of our neighborhood to a minimum. Each house we lose is a piece of history lost.
Hopefully, if no more houses are destroyed, I will resume my series next week!