The Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour Features W.H. Adamson’s Prairie Foursquare

Your holiday calendar may be filling up, but be sure to make room for the Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour on Dec. 9, and don’t miss this historic 1913 Prairie Foursquare at 127 N. Montclair Ave.

History on Display at Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour

Winnetka Heights is the city’s sixth historic district and the first in Oak Cliff to receive that designation. In 1983, the neighborhood was added to The National Register of Historic Places. It is the best example of preserved, intact turn-of-the-century homes in Dallas, most notably Craftsmen and Prairie style.

Although DCAD has a build date of 1934 for this home, we did some digging and found it was actually built in 1913 for W.H. Adamson, who was the principal of what was then called the Oak Cliff High School for 31 years. The high school, built in 1915, is in the American Revival Style and was renamed in honor of Adamson in 1935.

You should take a little side trip after the Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour and drive by this historic school, as it was also granted historical status by the Dallas City Council and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It appears Principal Adamson could have jumped on the Jefferson Avenue streetcar to get to work each day.

W. H. Adamson’s Prairie Foursquare

Fast forward, and we find this Prairie Foursquare has continued to be cared for, maintained, and updated over the years.

James and Debrah Epperson were crossing the Trinity from North Dallas every week to attend church at St. Jude Oak Cliff and loved the diverse and friendly area.

“When this house came on the market, we fell in love with it,” Debrah said. “We moved in 2020, just in time for the pandemic!”

Lightning Never Strikes Twice

Fortunately, the house was move-in ready. Their biggest challenge came in 2022 when lightning struck and caught the roof on fire. Although it was contained in the attic, the water damage went everywhere.

The Eppersons moved out for 10 months while the house was redone, and as the home was being made ready they were able to make some changes they’d been thinking about for a while.

“We got rid of the floor furnace grate and added cabinets into a sewing room I have upstairs,” Debrah said.

Although hard-pressed to pick a favorite area in their historic Prairie Foursquare, the downstairs sunroom is at the top of the list as it’s all windows and a wonderful place to begin and end each day.

The 2023 Winnetka Heights Holiday Home Tour starts at the legendary Turner House.To earn more about the tour and purchase tickets, visit the tour website here.