Roy-Hardin House
a.k.a. Millbrook
1803 Evergreen Ave., Austin, TXThe Roy-Hardin House was built in 1895. The alternate historic name Millbrook is derived from a weathervane installed atop one of the outbuildings and refers to the building's origins as a gristmill on a wet-weather creek that crosses the property. Converted to a residence once the creek was found to be inconsistent, the house was eventually abandoned. Maurine and Ernest Hardin, University of Texas speech and drama professors, purchased the deteriorated stone buildings in 1939. The house was renovated and remodeled with their artistic and eclectic vision. The property's significance lies in its picturesque and eclectic detailing and landscaping, mostly in place since 1940, and in Hardin's attempt to recreate the romantic notion of life in the past with a 1930s aesthetic viewpoint. Hardin's attempts were similar to several other Austin properties of the time. Hardin fused his own 1930s image of Texas with an image of the 1850s Bouldin plantation mill site, which he believed was the origin of the property, and the 1890s Roy homeplace. The Roy-Hardin House (Millbrook) is nominated under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the local level of significance as a vernacular stone building built as a mill and converted to a residence, reflecting the aesthetic qualities of two periods of habitation.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.