Amy Crockett brought to my attention these Sunday houses” built in the 19th century in Fredericksburg, TX. These were used as a resting place in town when spending long days for church services after having driven long distances from homesteads.
Sunday houses were small second dwellings maintained near a church as a weekend place of residence. They became popular in the late 1800s among farmers and ranchers who lived in areas too remote to permit commuting to services.
The families owning such houses normally left their farms and ranches Saturday morning, journeyed to town, took care of shopping and business, attended an evening dance or party, and spent the night in the Sunday house. On Sunday they attended church in the morning and either returned home in the afternoon or attended Sunday school in the afternoon, and then spent a second night in town.
Sunday houses originated for several reasons. Since there were few rural churches, a weekend town residence made it easier to attend services. And the social contact of a weekend in town provided compensation for the isolation of rural life. For more detailed information please read the complete article by Elise Kowert, Old Homes and Buildings of Fredericksburg.
The photos posted are of some of the lovely bed and breakfasts which have been made out of some of the remaining Sunday Houses. There are over 400 b&b’s in the Fredericksburg area, due to the German-Texan charm, wineries, and shopping there. Booking for most of these are handled by only a couple reservation services; info can be acquired through the Chamber of Commerce. Be sure you let ’em know you are interested in staying in a restored sunday house. I’m in the Austin area and a lot of ladies like to load up and go there for the weekends.
id like to sell these houses do u have a sales program distributer program for that? please asap im trying to re house the la people from oil crisis etc
Oh my! Those are absolutely adorable! I love that first one.
I’ve never heard of this. What a neat idea! The folks who own these little homes now are lucky to have a tiny piece of history.
I am from Texas and I have spent a spring break in Fredericksburg. I had an opportunity to rent a Sunday house. They are really cool. No wasted space. If you ever get a chance to visit the Hill Country try to rent one of them.
same idea as the houses/village on Martha’s Vinyard….very cool looking and functional….
-Deek
relaxshacks.com
In San Antonio, there are many apartments off Fredericksburg Road from which to choose, that are also, and conveniently, in close proximity to the Medical Center.
why don’t some of you who live close enough make rough draft floor plans of the houses, along with photographs.nyone then could figure out how to build one, i’d love to see this
HELLO
I WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE RATE OF THE BED/BREAKFAST INCLUDING IF YOU HAVE DOUBLE BEDS/QUEEN BEDS (TWO PER HOUSE) AND WHAT OTHER ACCODMOADATIONS. HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE RESERVATIONS?
You will need to contact the company, this is just a blog post about them. There should be a link above.
I would love to see some modern CAD plans for highly energy-efficient designs like these. Anyone have a link? Trying to build something like that first picture
There are many cities and towns that have alley’s and large lots with only a single McMansion on them. The problem is getting the zoning changes to allow alley way, ADU or mother-in-law housing. Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia and Louisiana are probably the few places you can have a probable chance of this type of land use. A few cities and areas on the west coast have variances (probably less than ten)that will allow some great projects.