Located in the highly sought-after Clarksville neighborhood, this beautifully restored 1893 home blends historic charm with thoughtful updates that preserve the character and intention of the original design while adding modern comforts. Set on a 0.22-acre lot, the home features a wrap-around porch to enjoy the mature landscape of towering pecans, native grasses, and banks of flowering purple irises all surrounded by a classic white picket fence and climbing-rose covered entry arbor. Walking distance to Lady Bird Lake, downtown Austin, and world-class restaurants, this home is the perfect retreat to enjoy your urban oasis.

A romantic home with character and charm, the floorplan offers tradition with flexibility. Open entertaining areas are all located on the main floor along with primary suite, secondary bedroom and bath. The large sun-filled primary opens to the porch, and includes sitting area with window seating as well as a recently remodeled en suite bath with soaking tub and dual vanities. Upstairs from the private library (second living) is the large third bedroom that can act as full studio suite with full bath and kitchen or versatile space for visitors, a home office, or rental income. Combining timeless architecture with a peaceful lot (which hosted a romantic outdoor wedding a few months ago) this home is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Austin’s history on one of its most historically significant streets.

The Hearn House Historical Information

John L. Hearn came to Austin in 1880 from Maryland. Settling with his new wife Aurelia, he was able to join her family’s carpentry business. By 1884 Culver and Hearn Builders was established. In 1893 the small company built 902 Blanco St. as a showcase of the company’s carpentry skills. The Hearns with their growing family of five children moved into the vernacular Victorian home complete with complex interior moldings and exterior gingerbread trims. The next few years were prosperous, as Austin was growing and John was a strong community member and business owner. Tragedy struck in 1898 when John stepped on a rusty nail at a job site and eventually passed from lockjaw (Tetanus). Aurelia chose a bold path by keeping all her children at home rather than sending them to live with relatives as widows commonly did. Aurelia was able to support herself and her by-then seven children as a dressmaker, fitting customers in the front room. Owned by various generations of the Hearn family for the next 100 years the home was finally sold in 1996. The current owner purchased it in 2003 and was able to research the history and vitality of the original owners, whose story offers an authentic snapshot of life at the turn of the last century in Austin, Texas. The house was officially designated Historic in 2006.

Aspects of Nature

This vibrant lot supports a diverse urban biology. Usually secretive about her nest, the resident mourning dove has returned for a third year to raise her babies in view of the kitchen window. A cardinal pair has set up a nest in the front yard and are often seen at the bird feeder, where they must compete with the squirrels. On a single day in March of last year, a bird app recorded the songs of the Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Carolina Wren, Red-Winged Blackbird, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, American Robin, and White-winged Dove. In Dec, the visitors included a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-crested Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Orange-Crowned Warbler—all heard or sighted from the front porch. A bank of perennial milkweed plants in the side kitchen garden hosts migrating monarch butterflies and the occasional hummingbird. Not to forget the reptiles, the family of green anole lizards bring their lime-colored bodies with red throats to warm on the porch. Electra the cat has also found joy in the beams of sunlight whether inside the home or on the porch. The natural habitat is likely what you would have found in 1893 with pecan trees and wildlife, all surrounded by a white picket fence.