Colleyville will restore historic Bidault House

The Bidault House is the only existing homestead in Colleyville to receive a Texas historical marker.

Over the years, the concrete block home built in the early 1900s and purchased by the city in 2011 has fallen into disrepair.

But city leaders say their landmark is a gem to be treasured and shown off to the world — after they give it a little polishing.

So at its regular meeting on June 16, the City Council approved the appropriation of funds in the amount of $82,125.80 for repairs and improvements to the Bidault House.

Funds did not come from the city’s general fund, the primary funding source for city operations. Instead the money will be paid from the city’s Tomorrow Fund, which is derived from the lease signing bonuses paid for the mineral rights to some city properties.

The City Council awarded the contract to Castro Roofing, Inc., through the TIPS/TAPS Cooperative Purchasing Network, in the amount of $78,625.80 to complete repairs to the Bidault House, and authorized the city manager to execute the contract.

Council members agreed that restoration would not be easy, considering its current state, which includes asbestos and lead paint.

Although the item was approved on the consent agenda with no discussion, the house and its importance to Colleyville was addressed at the City Council workshop two weeks earlier.

They talked about the importance of preserving their heritage.

City manager Jennifer Fadden said the home has “essentially been decaying since we got it” and the importance of “protecting as asset.”

City Councilman Chuck Mogged agreed, saying, “It’s got a long way to getting back to being authentic.”

He and others talked about the need to save it, explaining that they could not replace it once it was torn down.

Council members also talked of how it could be used to promote the city, such as serving as a place to have wedding photos outside and then, after baby steps, make more of the home accessible. They spoke of the home being a “good long-term investment.”

Following a recommendation from citizens serving on the Historical Preservation Committee, as well as other concerned citizens, the city has approved the purchase of the historic 1905 Bidault House, one of the few remaining historic homes in Colleyville.

According to city records, the Bidault House, located at 1416 Glade Road, was recorded as a historic landmark by the Texas Historical Commission in 1980.

Designed and built by French native Anthelm Bidault, who lived from 1862 to 1951, construction on the house began in 1905 and was completed six years later. Concrete blocks were used to build the house; the blocks were made with molds ordered from a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog.

Bidault’s farm, as the property was known then, was noted for its orchards, berry fields, and vineyard. During World War I, French soldiers stationed at Camp Bowie in Fort Worth made regular visits to the Bidault home, which the family referred to as “Chateau Bidault.”

The home was once occupied by former Colleyville City Councilman Jim Moore, a descendant of Anthelm Bidault. Upon Moore’s death in 2010, the family put the house on the market.

Members of the Colleyville Historical Preservation Committee and others were concerned that the home would be bought and destroyed to make room for a new home or commercial business.

As one of the oldest homesteads remaining in Colleyville, the general feeling expressed was that once this piece of the community’s history was gone, it would be gone forever. In response, the city began to explore the opportunity to buy the home.

The final purchase price was $290,000, almost $200,000 less than the original asking price. Funds came from the city’s Tomorrow Fund.

A brief history of the home is included in a Colleyville history book, “Colleyville Then and Now,” compiled by a special book committee that was an off-shoot of the Historical Preservation Committee.

The Historical Preservation Committee acts in an advisory capacity to City Council in matters pertaining to historical preservation, including developing and recommending a plan to identify, collect and preserve information, artifacts, and sites relevant to Colleyville’s history.

According chapter two of the book, Bidault found the property in 1897 and paid $500 for 58 acres. This acreage had only a two-room log house and a well when Bidault purchased it.

He thought it would be a fine place to grow fruit and berries to produce wine. After buying the land in September, the Bidaults couldn’t move in until the current tenants harvested their crops, so they pitched tents on the Behren’s place just south of their own property and lived there until they could take possession.

It was a hardscrabble existence at first.

According to the book, Anthelm had to build up the depleted soil while continuing to hold down a job at a restaurant in Fort Worth. During good weather, he rode his bicycle 19 miles into town and back.

His wife Jeanne sewed, kept the house going, raised chickens and a cow and took care of their growing family.

The new century saw the family begin to prosper. Their three years of hard work paid off with a large garden that produced plenty of fresh vegetables with enough left over to can for the winter.

Baby fruit trees, grapevines, and berry vines were set out. A wine cellar was dug and a windmill and water tank were set up. Board siding was added to the log house, and beehives were established among the flowers in the yard and orchard.

Bidault sold the farm in 1920 and returned to France.

Since then it has passed through many hands.

“Although its glory days are gone, the home still stands as a memorial to a resourceful French family that for many years called the area home,” said Patrecia Fox, co-author of “Colleyville Then and Now.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Colleyville will restore historic Bidault House."