By Linda Keese
When retired judge Robert Shannon first laid eyes on the home Major Moore built in 1848 in Bastrop, he knew he had to save it. It was love at first sight even though it had been a home for one man, seven dogs, a pet skunk and used to store cattle feed.
There were those who wanted it torn down, but Judge Shannon hired a crew to move it in three huge chunks to his property near Driftwood. When they were delivered and set down, looking at them, he thought, "I have lost my mind!"
Undaunted, he reconstructed the home, adding more rooms to the back, enlarging the dining area, kitchen, family room and a large screened porch to catch cooling breezes. It was a large home, just right for his family.
Stone from the ranch was used to construct the kitchen as well as tie in a log cabin to the back wing for a small sitting room and extra bedrooms. Newly added rooms were constructed in the old manner using boards for walls and ceilings. And although air-conditioning was added later, the ducts were camouflaged in the ceilings and walls to be unobtrusive.
Otherwise, the old home did get very hot inside, the Shannon's admit, especially upstairs. Seems the screened porch was put to good use as a bedroom on more than one hot night before air-conditioning.
The consummate shopper with a discerning eye and love for anything old or historic, Judge Shannon set about furnishing the home for his family. Nothing escaped his attention to detail. Federalist mirrors, crystal chandeliers, oil and watercolor paintings, guns or anything that struck his fancy adorn the walls of his home. A collection of tea sets are placed here and there on tables, particularly in the bedrooms which are set up not only for sleeping, but quiet places of respite from the hustle and bustle of a busy household.
Judge Shannon is both the ultimate recycler and shopper. Delving into antique shops and junk stores with a deft hand, he selects the mundane primitive to accent with ornate shimmering beauty, pairing the often overlooked ugly duckling with a graceful swan for a striking vignette in each room.
Not one wall is overlooked. Not one floor area. But not one item is forgotten either. As he lead Hays County Historical Commission members on a tour through the home recently, he recounted when and where each item was purchased and recalled a bit of history about its past.
Through the years the Rector log house from Manor was added to the property and some old slave quarters. The two buildings were added at a right angle off the Moore house leaving an area between them for a raised garden, also built from stone found on the ranch. A stone pathway was constructed leading to the out buildings and around the raised garden bed to keep feet dry. And from the gutters surrounding the buildings, rain keeps a large rock cistern full for watering the garden.
In order to add a modern kitchen and bathrooms to the Mercer log house, a galley was added on one side and a screened porch along the length on the other. It was a perfect solution to bring in needed plumbing and add blissful, cooling air-conditioning ducts as well. Camille Shannon is wheelchair bound so the kitchen is set up chair height and the floors are all level so she has access to the complete house.
Here Judge Shannon kept the decor homespun in keeping with the log home, using quilts and needlepoint items on beds, chairs and walls.
Developers have approached Judge Shannon about his land, but he is not interested. He is still collecting. As he travels down the windy gravel road out to the highway from his place on a foray into Gonzales or Round Top for antiques, he wonders what he will find, what will strike his fancy, for he knows there will be something, at least one item or two is there waiting patiently for him. He is, after all, the collector and protector of precious items lost, then found and proudly displayed by him.
• lindakeese@grandecom.net
