The McFarland House

The Queen Anne Victorian home that was built in 1899 and is known as the Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House is considered to be the most preserved of its kind in the region. This exquisite Victorian masterpiece of a little over 5,000 square feet was constructed by English architect Howard Messer for Galveston widow Mrs. George Ball (Sarah) and her son Frank in 1899. The home was built high on a hill overlooking the Trinity River. At a time when the typical cost of a dwelling was between $2,000 and $4,000, the construction of the house came to $38,000. The house has had just three different families live in it over its entire existence, and it has seen very few changes since it was first built. There are towers, gables, copper finials, a slate tile roof, and a porch made of red sandstone and marble on the late Victorian facade. The elegant interior has its original wood mantles, cornices, paneling, coffered ceilings, and parquet flooring. The McFarland House was declared as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1979, as well as Fort Worth's second Historic and Cultural Landmark in 1980. In 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1980, it was certified as such by the state of Texas.