Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
All articles from the Temple Daily Telegram are published with the permission of the
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Clay Coppedge and the Temple Daily Telegram
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Clay Coppedge and the Temple Daily Telegram
Petrified Wood Adds Solidity to Home
by Clay Coppedge
HOYTE - When H.B. Pressley began breaking up the land in 1911 for a farm he would call Vineyard Hill, he kept coming across pieces of petrified wood.
Some pieces were the size and shape of the tree trunks they once were. Twenty years later, Pressley used that petrified wood, including the large trunks, to build a house.
Considering that these former trees and bushes had lasted millions of years to that point, it's not surprising that the house still stands, solid as a rock.
Pressley's daughter, Paulie Pressley McDermott and her husband, Dr. Lyle McDermott, a long-time Milam County veterinarian, live there. The house, and the imagination and labor that went into it, are still a source of pride for Mrs. McDermott.
'The house is really a tribute to my father,' she said during a visit last week. 'I've gathered that he started building it about the first of the year. The date he finished it is inscribed as June of 1931, so it would appear they got it built pretty quickly.'
The McDermott house, on High way 36 south of Cameron, is not the only house or structure in the area built of petrified wood - the visitors center in Rockdale is made of the same stuff - but it stands out because of the size of the long columns that support the front of the house. They're as big as tree trunks because that's what they once were.
One of the large columns came from about five miles away, near the community of Maysfield.
'I remember when that piece was brought here,' Mrs. McDermott, 81, said, pointing to the 'imported' piece. 'I was six years old. They brought it on a Model T truck.
'Everything else came from this place. My father found it when he plowed and saved all of it.' She pointed to several pieces of petrified wood she has found over the years. 'Now, as you can see, I've got the same habit.'
Petrified wood forms when plant material, such as a tree or bush, is replaced by a mineral.
Underground water carries dissolved mineral matter through sediments where the plants or trees are buried, and the minerals take over the living cells of the material without changing the shape or pattern. It still looks like wood, but it's a rock now and as hard as steel.
The men who helped H.B. Pressley build his house found that out the hard way when one of the pieces cracked and they decided to just cut it in half. Nothing doing. They left it like it was.
'From what I've been told, it didn't take them too long to give up on the idea of cutting,' Mrs. McDermott said.
According to a 1931 article in the Cameron Herald, all of the men involved with building the house, other than Mr. Pressley, were named Roy.
Mrs. McDermott remembers Roy English the best. He was in charge of laying the stone.
'He came with a big bag carrying all of his possession and a trowel and he stayed with us until the house was finished,' she said.
Joining Roy English and architect Roy Lane was Roy Jeter and Roy Weems along with Roy Pressley, Mrs. McDermott's brother, who is described in the newspaper article as the 'reliant water boy.'
Trace minerals in the living substances of petrified wood can add bright and beautiful colors, but most of what we find in Texas comes in varying shades of brown, like the wood itself.
Sometimes, as in the case of some of the columns in front of Mrs. McDermott's house, the petrified wood is found with the outer bark pattern still visible.
Some of the smaller pieces that went into the construction of the house are pieces of petrified palm which, incidentally, is the state stone of Texas, so deemed by the Texas Legislature on a presumably slow legislative day in 1969.
'My parents went to Galveston in 1953 and my mama came back with all these sea shells,' Mrs. McDermott said, pointing to some that were incorporated into the house. 'She just stuck them in while the mortar was still wet.'
The McDermotts moved to the house in 1983 after her parents passed away. The setting is complimented by a towering, 70-year old pine tree and wildflowers that are blooming despite less than ideal weather conditions.
A small outbuilding made of petrified wood served as Mr. McDermott's office for many years. A barn made of iron ore sits behind the house, adding to a rural ambience that here, more than most places, is set in stone.
by Clay Coppedge
HOYTE - When H.B. Pressley began breaking up the land in 1911 for a farm he would call Vineyard Hill, he kept coming across pieces of petrified wood.
Some pieces were the size and shape of the tree trunks they once were. Twenty years later, Pressley used that petrified wood, including the large trunks, to build a house.
Considering that these former trees and bushes had lasted millions of years to that point, it's not surprising that the house still stands, solid as a rock.
Pressley's daughter, Paulie Pressley McDermott and her husband, Dr. Lyle McDermott, a long-time Milam County veterinarian, live there. The house, and the imagination and labor that went into it, are still a source of pride for Mrs. McDermott.
'The house is really a tribute to my father,' she said during a visit last week. 'I've gathered that he started building it about the first of the year. The date he finished it is inscribed as June of 1931, so it would appear they got it built pretty quickly.'
The McDermott house, on High way 36 south of Cameron, is not the only house or structure in the area built of petrified wood - the visitors center in Rockdale is made of the same stuff - but it stands out because of the size of the long columns that support the front of the house. They're as big as tree trunks because that's what they once were.
One of the large columns came from about five miles away, near the community of Maysfield.
'I remember when that piece was brought here,' Mrs. McDermott, 81, said, pointing to the 'imported' piece. 'I was six years old. They brought it on a Model T truck.
'Everything else came from this place. My father found it when he plowed and saved all of it.' She pointed to several pieces of petrified wood she has found over the years. 'Now, as you can see, I've got the same habit.'
Petrified wood forms when plant material, such as a tree or bush, is replaced by a mineral.
Underground water carries dissolved mineral matter through sediments where the plants or trees are buried, and the minerals take over the living cells of the material without changing the shape or pattern. It still looks like wood, but it's a rock now and as hard as steel.
The men who helped H.B. Pressley build his house found that out the hard way when one of the pieces cracked and they decided to just cut it in half. Nothing doing. They left it like it was.
'From what I've been told, it didn't take them too long to give up on the idea of cutting,' Mrs. McDermott said.
According to a 1931 article in the Cameron Herald, all of the men involved with building the house, other than Mr. Pressley, were named Roy.
Mrs. McDermott remembers Roy English the best. He was in charge of laying the stone.
'He came with a big bag carrying all of his possession and a trowel and he stayed with us until the house was finished,' she said.
Joining Roy English and architect Roy Lane was Roy Jeter and Roy Weems along with Roy Pressley, Mrs. McDermott's brother, who is described in the newspaper article as the 'reliant water boy.'
Trace minerals in the living substances of petrified wood can add bright and beautiful colors, but most of what we find in Texas comes in varying shades of brown, like the wood itself.
Sometimes, as in the case of some of the columns in front of Mrs. McDermott's house, the petrified wood is found with the outer bark pattern still visible.
Some of the smaller pieces that went into the construction of the house are pieces of petrified palm which, incidentally, is the state stone of Texas, so deemed by the Texas Legislature on a presumably slow legislative day in 1969.
'My parents went to Galveston in 1953 and my mama came back with all these sea shells,' Mrs. McDermott said, pointing to some that were incorporated into the house. 'She just stuck them in while the mortar was still wet.'
The McDermotts moved to the house in 1983 after her parents passed away. The setting is complimented by a towering, 70-year old pine tree and wildflowers that are blooming despite less than ideal weather conditions.
A small outbuilding made of petrified wood served as Mr. McDermott's office for many years. A barn made of iron ore sits behind the house, adding to a rural ambience that here, more than most places, is set in stone.