Berry Cottage

The Berry Cottage was built in the late 1860s and served as a stopover for the Chidester Stageline, on its way from Fort Worth to El Paso.  Col. and Mrs. Berry paid $350 for the 10 and 1/2 acres of land on which they built their two-story home of native limestone.  Col. Berry opened a land and insurance business.  An active member of the Baptist church, Mrs. Berry was widely known for her hospitality, not only to the passengers on the stage line but to the residents of Stephenville. An interesting point here would be to remind you that the Stephenville Study Club helped to restore the house through public contributions in 1965.  (I remember vacuuming the downstairs parlor with Jackie Moore about that time.) What would later become The Dinner Bell, was built one year earlier.  These two started out as neighboring homes, are recognized now as the two oldest houses in Stephenville.