The gardens of Crookwood, home of former Ambassador William H. Crook and Mrs. Crook, will be one of the sites of the 45th Annual Heritage Home Tour of San Marcos. Entrance to the gardens will be through an elegant side gate surrounded by walls laced in foliage to the left of the home, located at 227 North Mitchell Street at the corner of Belvin and Mitchell Streets.
A gourmet charcuterie, catered by New Braunfels Charcuterie and fresh lemonade provided by The Damron Group Realtors, will be served in front of the carriage house. Guests will also enjoy a musical performance by the SMART Orchestra and are welcome to take photographs of the stunning gardens.
Crookwood’s exquisite architectural design, which includes gracious white front porch columns, was built in 1908 by Ike Wood, copied from a house on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Wood, a merchant banker, opted against the popular Victorian style of architecture at the time and chose a classical Greek revival style. The Crook family is the second family to own the house, and Mr. Crook combined the original family name with his own, hence the name ‘Crookwood.’ Mr. and Mrs. William H. Crook purchased the home in 1962 when Mr. Crook was serving as president of the San Marcos Academy. In 1967, Mr. Crook was named the National Director of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). Shortly afterward, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Mr. Crook to serve as the Ambassador to Australia (1968-1969).
