Unveiling the Mystery and Legends of This Stevens Park Estates Home

This is the mysterious Plymouth Road home that Oak Cliff neighbors wondered about. Every neighborhood has one. A home that’s so shrouded in mystery — and overgrown foliage — that when those leafy limbs are pulled away, it’s like unveiling a swan behind an ugly duckling facade.

“Well, she’s not quite a swan yet but she will be,” says listing agent Michael Mahon of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate, retorting off-hand as we finish chatting.

He’s talking about the once-hidden home at 1023 N. Plymouth Road, this week’s Highlight Home of the Week, sponsored by Dallas mortgage broker Lisa Peters of Cardinal Financial. In fact, if you flip through the years that Google Maps has documented this home, you’ll see the structure of this once-majestic two-story hasn’t been visible since 2019.

But now four years later, the nearly century-old home is lifting its verdant veil. When Mahon stood in the front yard last week, surveying all the shrubbery that’d been cut away — clearing the street view as well as lifting the obstructed view of Stevens Park Golf Course behind it — neighbor after neighbor stopped him with excitement. “The neighbors were all like, ‘Finally! We can see what’s behind all that shrubbery.'”

The mystery of the home’s facade may have been lifted but the legend of its successive owners remains. Since it was built in 1928, the simple Colonial has only had three owners.

The most recent, Mrs. Gloria Snodgrass, was a master gardener and widow to an eponymous furniture store owner and magnanimous Sunset High School alum Mr. Tommy Snodgrass. With half an acre as her canvas, Mrs. Snodgrass cultivated gardens throughout the large property, and inside an enclosed porch-turned-sunroom with a wall of windows and a built-in flower bed (shown below). Husband and wife lived here on Plymouth Road since the 1970s.

Before Mr. Snodgrass purchased this home for his bride, the home’s second owner, Mrs. Katie Ripley, lived here. The Oak Cliff socialite was a woman ahead of her time — a time when women’s accomplishments were published in a Dallas Morning News column called “As One Woman Sees the Others.” (Judgey, don’t you think?)

With her husband, the Dallas business owner risked jail to aid interstate birth control shipments — using her own empty Ripley Shirt Co. boxes. Mrs. Ripley helped establish Texas’ first birth control clinic in Oak Cliff in 1935. In the hard times of the 1930s, the radical Mrs. Ripley saw couples who couldn’t afford to take care of their children and yet, the women were frequently pregnant.

She was widow to Mr. George Ripley, “one of the most colorful political characters of the 1930s and 1940s,” as described in his obituary. “Overnight he became a one-man vice squad in search of thieves on the City of Dallas payroll.”

When the shirtmaker joined the city’s Parks and Recreation board, he quickly sniffed out kickbacks and misappropriations. Parks board members were diverting materials from the Works Progress Administration, a federal Depression-era public works fund, for renovations on their own homes. Touching those federal funds earned the disgraced board members a date in federal court and subsequent prosecution.

Mr. Ridley left local politics soon after the trials in 1939 and left the shirt business in the 1940s to enjoy an early retirement, where he traveled and took extensive photos of far-off places to share with civic groups that he hosted at his home.

The home’s first owners elude my diligent research because I’m just not good at finding and reading Sanborn Fire maps yet. So instead, let me tell you about this 1928 house that Michael Mahon has listed.

This 2,240-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths, set on a rambling half-acre overlooking the Stevens Park Golf Course. And although this home is sold as is, original details in the bathrooms and kitchen show this home was well taken care of.

From the listing:

Remarkable opportunity to own a piece of history in one of the most sought-after locations in North Oak Cliff! Situated on a generous half-acre lot, this property offers astounding views of Stevens Park Golf Course. Nestled among towering trees, the home exudes charm and character, showcasing original details that provide a unique opportunity for restoration and rejuvenation. Step inside and admire exquisite architectural features that reflect the era’s grandeur. In addition to the main house, this property features guest quarters and a two-car garage with a storage or hobby room. The sprawling grounds beckon you to enjoy the beauty of nature. The unparalleled views serve as a constant reminder of the privileged location of this home in highly-coveted Stevens Park Estates. This is the first time the home has been on the market in more than four decades, so don’t miss this incredible opportunity to restore and transform this property into something truly special! 

Okay yes, the carpet tread on the stairs is worn and the walls bear the silhouettes of furniture from a past life in this home. But paint and paper and carpet can be updated. Some remarkable people have owned and lived in this Plymouth Road home in the last century, and it deserves to live up to its former glory — with a legacy of new owners who welcome a project (and a captive audience of Oak Cliff neighbors who can’t wait to see this home as it once was.)

Michael Mahon of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate has listed 1023 N. Plymouth Rd for $990,000.