|
a.
|
Note: N135 Died in fire at their home.
Survived by Sister Mrs. E. Dick Slaughter, Nieces Mrs. W. D. Felder, Mrs. Inez Hayward of Dallas and Mrs. Adolphus Busch III, St. Louis
Listed as Mrs. Dorsey Gibbs Crawford in her mother’s 1919 obituary
From Dallas Morning News Online 3 Nov 2008 regarding lot at 4321 St. Johns Drive, Highland Park, Dallas County Texas, owned most recently by Lamar Hunt.
Dallas Morning News, October 18, 2007
No Taker on prime $15M Highland Park Lot
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News
Rich with history
Some familiar with the town's past speak of more than the land's potential. They also mention the white wood frame house that once stood there.
"You can see a depression [on the land] where there was the home site," said Ronnie Brown, town director of parks and sanitation services.
W.O. Connor, Highland Park's second mayor and the man whom adjacent Connor Park honors, owned a swath of property in the area early in the town's development, including the 4321 St. Johns land.
It was near the first lots sold by Flippen-Prather Realty Co., which in 1907 developed the town after John S. Armstrong and his sons-in-law bought the land that would become Highland Park.
Mr. Connor's daughter Dorothy and her husband, Frank Austin, later built a home on the St. Johns property, including a bridge to the Connor land across the creek.
Eventually, Dorsey Gibbs Morris, daughter of former Texas Lt. Gov. Barnett Gibbs, and her husband bought the home. It served as a venue for teas and debutante parties and was featured on at least one garden tour.
In 1946 and by then a widow, Mrs. Morris married prominent corporate lawyer William H. Flippen, brother of Highland Park developer Edgar Flippen.
The Flippens' house and its gardens were featured in 1948 in The Dallas Morning News. The story highlighted the home's four gardens and lush environment, including "velvety pansies" lining a red brick walk from the street to the home, a reflecting pool near a screened-in porch, an enormous rose garden and terraced gardens that stair-stepped down to a concrete boat landing.
But on Jan. 25, 1952, tragedy struck. A fire, thought to be sparked by defective wiring, started in the basement of the 14-room home. Mrs. Flippen and housekeeper Ida Girerd tried to rescue Mr. Flippen, who had been nearly paralyzed by strokes, but were unsuccessful.
All three died of suffocation, and fire and smoke caused an estimated $160,000 in damage – more than $1.2 million in today's dollars.
Although severely damaged, the home wasn't destroyed, and it appears that nothing was ever rebuilt on the property. Mr. Fisher said that as late as 1972, a portion of the home's chimney was still visible.
|
