305 Ramona ST, Smithville TX 78957

Step back into the past and experience the Mrs. CH Turney’s boarding house! This home was built ca. 1888 by the Calcasieu Lumber Co, it was the third residence in the Smithville Townsite. Being the only boarding house built before 1900 this home would have hosted all early travelers to Smithville. This home has been in the Turney Family for 5 generations. The oversized first and second floor inset porches are ripe for hosting guests and neighbors to reminisce about the day’s events or tell the tales of Texas. The interior features include original hardwood floors, stained wood trim, doors, staircase and transom. The homes floor plan has a first-floor master bedroom with a separate porch entrance that leads into the bedroom and a private bathroom. The first floor also has a separate guest bathroom with a clawfoot tub, 2 living areas, kitchen & what could either be used as a second owner’s kitchen with access to a separately fenced side yard or returned for use as a formal dining room. The 2nd floor has wide center hall, 5 large bedrooms, a front balcony and a full bathroom with clawfoot tub. CH Turney was a leading citizen in the early life and development of Smithville. He moved here from Taylor Texas before Smithville was even incorporated. He was a brakeman on the railroad at that time. It has been said that he came in on one of the first freight trains from Taylor to Houston. He began building homes in Smithville in 1894. He opened a Lumber Yard and Brick Yard at 219 NE 1st. Many of the early buildings were built with this brick. He was the mayor on Smithville in 1901. He built a large family home on the edge of the Mt. Pleasant addition on Smithville which was the center of many social gatherings. Data regarding the home & CH Turney collected from the National Register of Historical Places and Early History of Smithville, Texas by Silky Ragsdale Crockett.