PINEVILLE, LA (AP) — Hiram F. Bradford, a prominent Alexandria businessman and realtor for more than a quarter of the 20th century, was remembered in a feature story of The Town Talk last January for being the builder of the old Rapides Golf and Country Club in Pineville.
He built the 9-hole course on his property, which encompassed 1,000 acres, in 1922 at what is now the Greenwood Memorial Gardens cemetery.
It was noted in the story — "Buried lies (and truths) discovered at old golf course" — that according to Bradford's request, his grave stone faces what was his landmark brick home, now the featured property of the "Myrtlewood" estate. The house sits at the end of a trail across the road (Military Highway) from the cemetery.
It was erroneously reported that the home, listed on the National Historic Register, was unoccupied. Gloria Hearn of Pineville, who bought the home with her late husband, Dr. George Hearn, in 1991, lives there. The Hearns were just the third owners of the estate, which was built around 1922, according to Bradford's grandson and namesake, Hymie.
The second owner was W.G. Vernon, a prominent dentist who purchased the home in 1949, and his family owned the estate for about 40 years.
There have been rumors that the house, which was designed in the classical revival style architecture, is haunted, and Hearn said she would neither confirm nor deny the rumors. "Some time there are creaks in the night," she said with a smile.
Hymie Bradford said he thinks the rumors spun off tales about the nearby Berwick Home, whose owner, when Bradford was a youth, was "an eccentric pharmacist." The house, he said, had the look of "a big haunted house with all the growth around it, and Mr. Berwick was known to operate on himself. I heard he once took his own appendix out.
"He was very standoffish and reclusive, which also added to the mystique about him," added Bradford.
Bradford said Myrtlewood was the first brick home in Pineville, according to a family genealogy book. He remembers living next door and walking with his parents and siblings to the home of his grandparents (Hiram and Frances) every Sunday after church for a noon dinner. The elder Bradford, who was Pineville's mayor from 1914-17, died at the home in 1948 when Hymie was 7.
"I remember the last time I was there, there was a fountain out front with goldfish in it," Hymie said. "It was Jan. 1, 1948, and grandpa was in his pajamas and a robe, and we listened to the Sugar Bowl game between Alabama and Texas on an old Philco radio, which I still have. He told me to pick a team to pull for, and he'd root for the other. I picked Texas and Bobby Layne, and he took Alabama and Harry Gilmer."
In the first quarter, Layne had a 99-yard touchdown pass for Texas, and in the second quarter, Alabama tied the game on an 8-yard touchdown pass by Gilmer, and Texas went on to win 27-7. Hiram F. Bradford, who appeared to be having some discomfort that day, Hymie said, died two months later.
Hearn said when she and her husband bought the home in '91, "it had been deteriorating and needed a lot of work. When we moved in, you couldn't see the bricks on the sidewalk, but the place was laid out well and really landscaped beautifully. We're still not through with the work that needs to be done."
Tours of the home are by appointment only, and there is no charge, but Hearn customarily asks for a donation, which she said is usually $10.
Historic preservation consultant Paul Smith said the house is an "excellent example" of the classical revival style of architecture, which he said is a "throwback to the Greek and Roman architecture."
It is also one of just two large buildings of the classical revival architecture in Pineville. The other is Louisiana College's Alexandria Hall, so he said, "Myrtlewood may be the only example of an early 20th century residence in the classical revival style in the area."
This style of architecture became popular in the early years of the United States, said Smith, because of its association with Greek architecture, and Greece was the cradle of democracy. It makes use of columns, pilasters, entablature and pediment, "and it's known for its general symmetry," he added. "If you draw a vertical line down the middle, the two sides often mirror each other."
There are five porches (three downstairs) — all of which could once be used as "sleeping porches" when there was no air conditioning — and there are transoms above some doors that can be opened to increase ventilation. One downstairs porch has been converted into a library, where a screen comes down in front of the bookshelves and can be used for home movies.
"The original projector is behind that wall (opposite the bookshelves)," said Hearn, whose husband took great interest in restoring the historical home. George Hearn was a psychology professor at Louisiana College, a minister and a two-term city councilman, and he did a stint as president of the Historical Association of Central Louisiana.
There is a portrait of George Hearn in the living room that was painted by an alcoholic from Shreveport, Mrs. Hearn said. "The artist said while (her husband) posed for the portrait, he really helped him a lot, talking to him about his addiction."
Another featured portrait in the front room is of their late son, Gene, who was a four-sport athlete at Pineville (Class of '78) and played baseball at Baylor University. He became an attorney in Shreveport and died at age 28 of Hodgkin's disease.
"A girl from Montgomery, Alabama was in her teens when she did that portrait," said Mrs. Hearn of the artist, Susan Edwards. "She found out Gene was 6-foot, 180 pounds, and she found some men that size to wear jackets like his for her to see, so she could get the folds just right."
The house boasts some spectacular pieces of furniture, including an elaborately carved white marble mantelpiece in the front room and, in the main bedroom upstairs, there's a huge 8-foot wide armoire with mirrors on both doors. There are also bi-fold beveled glass French doors, cast iron stair rails and built-in china cupboards in the dining room.
Although a brochure for Myrtlewood promotes bed and breakfast opportunities, Hearn said that no longer applies. However, Hearn has hosted occasional small tours or social events and one or two weddings at Myrtlewood, which sits atop a 5-acre knoll.
The path leading to the home is like an alley lined on each side by tall crepe myrtle trees, and shading a brick terrace on the side of the house is what Hearn said is "one of the oldest and biggest crepe myrtles in the state."
She wants the place to benefit the public.
"I want to do whatever I can to preserve this place," Hearn said, "so that it is a credit to the city of Pineville and Central Louisiana and, most important, for the glory of God. I would hope that we could figure out a way it could be used for brainstorming about ways the arts could be more incorporated and wedded to the behavior of mankind."
– by AP/ Reporter Bob Tompkins with The Town Talk
