The Keith House - Heritage Homes Tour - Personal Memories
Mopac Then and Now - Pemberton Castle - The Catterall Mills House

The Catterall Mills House

Bryan and Jenni Chester have always loved history and old houses. In 1999, when they bought the house at 2524 Harris Boulevard, they knew from the start they were going to restore it back to its original 1937 condition.

Their research began at the Austin History Center. They were able to find old photographs of the house and contact family members of the original owners. With the help of local architect Nick Deaver, who specializes in old home restoration, the house now looks very much like it did close to 70 years ago.

The Caterall Mills House is an Early American Georgian Revival. It is a plain, symmetrical, wood frame structure covered with red wood siding. The design is derived from the Early Georgian house (1700-1800). Identified with American Independence, this type of house was made popular by George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

The house has some unusual architectural features including a bomb shelter in the backyard built during the Cold War with Russia. The second owner, Dottie Bull added an Italian marble fireplace, stained glass windows and front doors from a church in Bastrop, and tin ceiling tiles in the living room. She also added the front porch and columns and replaced all of the front first floor windows with french doors. She covered the horizontal red wood siding with vertical cedar siding. Bryan and Jenni restored many of the original features of the home including the horizontal redwood siding and the original oak floors.

While researching their home, the Chesters discovered that the first owners, Gordon E. Mills and Margaret Catterall Mills were very prominent Austinites throughout the mid 1900’s.

Gordon Eldridge Mills was born in Maine in the early 1900’s. He was an orphan raised by his siblings and educated at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He married Margaret in 1933 and they moved to Austin in 1935 so he could go to work for his father-in-law at the Walker Austex Chili Company. It was there that Gordon distinguished himself as a key business and civic leader. His 20 year tenure at Austex included Vice President and General Manager.

Many of you may have never heard of Austex Chili, but in the 1930’s there were 3 major businesses in Austin - the University, the Government, and Austex Chili. Located at 310 San Antonio, it was the largest factory of its kind in the United States. It played a dominant role in popularizing Mexican style foods throughout the country.

During World War II, Gordon was instrumental in negotiating a contract to provide C-Rations (Army) and K- Rations (Navy) for our troops. Gordon Mills wanted Austin to be
able to compete with the other cities in Texas not only on a business level but on a cultural one. He and his wife Margaret were very involved in the Austin Symphony, the local art scene, the Austin Country Club and the Men’s and Women’s Golf Association. Gordon was a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.

One of Gordon Mills most notable achievements was his involvement in the creation of the Austin Humane Society. He organized the drive that raised the funds to build the Austin and Travis County Animal Shelter at its current location by the old Missouri Pacific Depot and served as the General Manager. Margaret shared her husbands love for animals and they were known to adopt many strays themselves.

Margaret Catterall was born in Galveston, the youngest of the five children of Fred W. and Elizabeth Catterall. In 1928 she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in New York. She was one of the first women to attend. During World War II, Margaret was very active at the Red Cross, folding bags and parachutes. She was instrumental in the installation of Austin’s current Civil Defense warning system. Austin was thought to be a prime target for a Russian nuclear strike as Bergstrom housed the B-52s. Margaret had a bomb shelter built in her backyard as a few other Pemberton residents did. After the war she planted a victory garden in the back of the house. She was a patriot through and through.

Gordon and Margaret hob-knobbed with Austin’s social elite at the Austin Country Club back in the fifties and sixties. Their company included the likes of Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, Allan Shivers, John Connally and J. C. Penney to name but a few. Gordon served as president of the ACC in the early fifties and it was there that he and his wife chaired numerous fund raisers, benefits, and roasts.  Margaret passed away in 1965 and Gordon followed her in 1972.