The 1886 Victorian architectural masterpiece at 903 Belvin Street is the home of Marian and Blake Stasney. The family's beautiful backyard pavilion and garden will be part of our 45th Annual Heritage Home Tour. Guests will enter through a white trellis fence on both sides to the grand garden off Belvin Street and Travis Avenue.
As guests stroll through the gardens taking in the extensive plantings by Texas Master Gardener, Marian Stasney, they can partake in traditional English scones, tea and lemonade. An exhibit will be set up in the garden featuring archives of some of the home tours held over the last 45 years. Guests will have a unique opportunity to purchase original sketches as well as signed and numbered prints of local historic homes and buildings drawn by San Marcos architect and Heritage Association Board member Jeffrey Kester. In addition, there are a few images of several of San Marcos’ most cherished historical sites enhanced with watercolor accents. This year, a special bonus will be a musical performance provided by the SMART Orchestra.
Samuel R. Kone, Jr. and his wife, Laura Smith Kone, had this Classic Victorian home built in 1886 on acreage dating back to the original Juan Martin de Veramendi Grant of 1832. Kone, who was said to be the first person in San Marcos to have a telephone, was a successful merchant, active Mason and a member of the San Marcos City Council. The Kone family purchased the land for $350 and built the ornate home in the period’s style, which now adds to the charm of the present-day Belvin Street Historic District.
As one of the earliest Victorian homes established on Belvin Street, this house was built on cedar posts and finished with cypress siding. The original Mansard roof and metal cresting identified it as a pristine example of the Victorian period with exquisite architectural detail. In the petite entryway of the home is a winding staircase built with an octagon-shaped three- and one-half-foot newel post accented by a slender balustrade and pseudo-carved handrails. Each step is decorated with a serpentine fleurde-lis design. The original flooring is five-inchwide pine boards and tall base boarding, both being standard features in the late 1800s. The spacious garden includes a quaint carriage house, used by Mr. Kone as a livery stable but rebuilt in 1994 after extensive storm damage. The livery stable now serves as a guest cottage.
After the Kone family owned the home for eighty years, they sold it in 1966 to former San Marcos Mayor Mr. Herbert Yarbrough and his wife, Dorothy. The Yarbrough family restored and preserved the home while leaving much of the period details from its original construction. In 1977, the Yarbrough home was designated a Texas Historic Landmark and was one of the two homes featured in the first-ever Heritage Association Tours of Distinction. The other house in the original tour was Crookwood.
The current owners of the Kone-Yarbrough Home, Marian and Blake Stasney, purchased the home in the fall of 2017, and have made extensive renovations to the kitchen, adding Quartzite countertops, as well as Carrera marble tiles and flooring in the bathrooms and guest cottage. Over the last four years, Marian has worked diligently to replace the lost trees and restore neglected gardens. The ‘Giant Garden of Tiny Miracles’ focuses on native and adapted deer-resistant plants, as well as trees that benefit pollinators and other wildlife. A new addition to the home includes a outdoor dining pavilion, where the Stasney family enjoys spending time gardening and entertaining.
This year’s “See, Sip and Savor in the Historic Gardens of San Marcos” tour is on June 4 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tour tickets are limited to the first 400; $25 advance/$30 tour day. Tickets can be purchased through the HASM website at heritagesanmarcos.org or the Charles S. Cock House Museum, located in Veramendi Plaza Park at 400 East Hopkins Street, on Fridays during May and on June 3 from 11 a.m. - 1 .pm. Persons interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Bronwyn Sergi at 512- 757-0730.
All proceeds from the 2022 home tour will go toward the 2022-2023 Capital Campaign to raise funds for the restoration and renovation of the Charles S. Cock House Museum.
The Heritage Association of San Marcos would like to thank the following 45th Annual Home Tour Sponsors:
Eleanor Crook
McNutt Law Firm
La Cima
Divided Sky
Roofing and Solar
Sal’s House of Tint
McCoy’s Building Supply
Advanced Imaging
Zelicks Icehouse
The Damron Group Realtors
Palmers Restaurant
Bar & Courtyard
San Marcos Daily Record
Jude and Kathy Prather
Germer Insurance Services
The Crystal River Inn
Brita and Robert
Northcutt
Premier Cuts
Café on the Square
Sergi & Associates
Paul Velte Attorney at Law
Jane Hughson
Carl Deal Photography
Central Texas Eye Center
Frost Bank
Italian Garden
Sage Capital Bank
SMART Orchestra
Cardinal Frames
The Floral Studio
Cody Couch
Harry and Ellie Stewart
Lea and Tim Rice
Paradise Palms at York Creek
Sean Crowder