Renovated historic home in Burnet reveals its secrets over time
The house at 701 E. Vandeveer St. in Burnet has been known as the Vanderveer House, the Dr. Williamson House, and the Healing House. It was recently renovated with a hidden room, a feature that might have broken a ghost’s smoking habit. Dr. Williamson built the home for his family when he moved to Burnet in the early 1920s. Courtesy photo
Not every haunted house is scary. The lingering presence or energy felt by Nicole Westhoff in the recently renovated Dr. Williamson House at 701 E. Vandeveer St. in Burnet is peaceful. Also known as the Healing House, Westhoff’s property was once owned by Dr. Jason Luther Williamson (1878-1944), who treated returning World War II soldiers in his home.
“The original owner’s grandparents were from Louisiana, so he incorporated some of their traditions when he built the house,” Westhoff said. “The porch was painted blue to ward off evil spirits, which may be one reason the house feels so peaceful.”
At some point, Dr. Williamson built an unusual rock wall around the house, also to ward off spirits. The rocks all contain crystals and are various types of stone known for protective properties, Westhoff said. A photo of the doctor in his front yard shows a different fence, but a relative recalls the rock version.
“I remember the rock fence that is there now,” said Mary Lou McNair, Williamson’s great-great-granddaughter. “I also seem to remember that there were broken glass bottles on top of the fence at one time.”
McNair lives in La Grange but visits Burnet often. She donated a bench and a plaque on the north side of the Burnet County Courthouse lawn in honor of Williamson and his wife, Addie. On one trip this spring, she stopped by the Williamson House while it was being renovated and asked for a tour.
Westhoff was ecstatic.
“Every house has a story, and I wanted to know this home’s story,” she said. “I wanted to know its background, its history, so I know how to redesign it. I can pay homage to the previous owners and incorporate that into the design.”
Westhoff’s research into the history of Dr. Williamson’s home led her to join the Burnet County Historical Commission. She is also president of the Wedgwood Historical Association in Fort Worth. Her company, Westicke Properties LLC, develops property and restores homes in Fort Worth and the Highland Lakes. She lives in both Fort Worth and Marble Falls, where her children go to school. Her family has owned the ReinickeRanch in Marble Falls for over seven decades.
“As a homebuilder, one of the project passions I have is restoration and preservation,” Westhoff said. “You’ll find me where the next project is.”
Currently, that is in Marble Falls, where she and her family are developing parts of the ranch into Reinhoff Village, a “Hansel and Gretel-style village,” she said. Reinhoff merges her two family names, Reinicke and Westhoff.
Before that project began, however, she was working on a house in Llano. Then, she was told about the house in Burnet. She fell in love at first sight.
“I immediately knew there was a story behind it because of how grand it is and its proximity to downtown Burnet,” she said.
The history of the Williamson House knocked on the front door as renovations were underway.
“Several families stopped by telling about their connection to the home,” Westhoff said. “Almost every day, someone stopped by, but I couldn’t find the original story. Until one day, a woman pulled up and told me her great-great-grandfather built this house. She was the missing piece.”
Westhoff learned that Dr. Williamson was born on June 9, 1878, near Athens, Texas, and attended medical school at the University of Nashville. He moved to Burnet sometime in the early 1920s, where he set up a lucrative medical practice. An obituary printed in the Burnet Bulletin on Aug. 31, 1944, described his medical and military activities during World War II. Williamson was 63 when the United States entered the war in 1941. He died before it ended.
“He had been overworked before the war started, but since that time, after so many of the doctors had gone into the armed services, he performed double duty, which was too much for a man of his age,” reads Williamson’s obituary. “His family and friends for months had urged him to curtail some of his work, but he considered it his duty to the public to remain on his feet. This writer thinks Dr. Williamson was a casualty of the war just the same as men who have fallen on the battlefields.”
Williamson was also involved in the Selective Service, for which he posthumously received a Selective Service Medal in 1946. Recipients include governors, congressmen, businessmen, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Westhoff believes the good doctor’s ministrations to injured World War II soldiers, his intense work ethic, and his dedication to the nation all combined to create a restful, healing atmosphere at his former home.
She incorporated that into her renovations. The blue porch was closed in as a family room, but the blue beadboards have been used throughout the house. An office that filled with the smell of smoke every time a worker came in, although no one was smoking on the property, was turned into a hidden room.
Once the room was fully furnished, the smoke fumes disappeared. The restless energy in the house was settled, Westhoff said.
“My background is Native American on my father’s side and German on my mother’s,” she said. “In my culture mix, whether you believe in ghosts or believe in angels, we agree there are spirits, that there is a spiritual world. It’s a kind of energy you can feel.”