About the Cover

An Arts & Crafts

Home with Bois ’d’Arc Tree Trunks

The house we in Caldwell affectionately call the Zaccagnino House is a wonderful example of the Arts and Crafts style of the early 1900’s. This home was originally built in 1915 by then County Judge Warren Hilliard, believed to be a personal friend of Lyndon Banes Johnson, who it was said often frequented the home. The Arts and Craft house was designed by W. S. Haggarts Architect out of Dallas, Texas.

The “pier and beam” house was supported by dozens of bois d’arc trees. stumps. Use of this hard wood tree was a common practice of builders of that time.

Judge Hilliard suffered a stroke at home on June 17, 1944, and was taken upstairs where he later died. His wife Helen and their five children continued to live in the home till Helen’s death. Ruth, the only daughter, inherited the dwelling, and then she later sold it to Bill and Allene Leech in 1971. In the summer of 1976, Sal and Alice Zaccagnino bought the home from the Leeches, and they lived there till 2020 when Sal and Alice’s son Tony and wife Lia came to Caldwell to inherit Tony’s childhood home.

Renovation on the house was begun and accomplished during much of the Covid Quarantine of 2020. Located across from the present Caldwell Elementary School, which was under reconstruction, their house was remodeled for 56 weeks by Rios Remodeling out of Snook, whose work they were truly satisfied with. The dual constructions and the disruptions of such work turned out well for both parties. Lia and Tony lived in Sal’s reconfigured, outside office during the renovations. They commented that of the 35 years of marriage, they had been on the road for work during 32 of the years. So, taking over the wonderful old two-story structure made a way for them to find roots and rescue the wonderful home their parents had lived in for over fifty years.

Work on the home was vast: Creating concrete pilings, leveling the house, adding 55 new windows (they kept the beveled glass ones), and removing the door to the dining room. The keeping of all original doors and floors was important to them. And they gutted the kitchen and put in modern appliances and work stations there.

When asked about their front porch, they said that they have two doors that open to the first-floor porch, and one that is on the second floor. They do enjoy being on their lovely downstairs porch, watching people and enjoying the outdoors.

Tony and Lia plan to embrace life in Caldwell with Sal and Alice now living next door, and they have already enjoyed being involved in the community though they’ve been here a short time. They look forward to enjoying in their beautiful, sturdy, restored Arts and Craft home, and one day to keep it in the family by passing it on to their daughter Kennedy and husband Logan King.

The Zaccagninos state, “This is our forever home. It was 100 years old when we remodeled it. We plan to spend time with Sal and Alice and enjoy Caldwell in our new home that is filled with the treasures of our travels over the years.