124 South Main Street, Keller Texas
The Jarvies house at 124 South Main was built in the 1920s for the family of James (Jim) Ernest Jarvies (later Jarvis). Typical of the period, it features hardwood floors, handcrafted woodworking, a modest fireplace, a comfortable covered front porch, and a sturdy storm cellar just outside the kitchen door. Jim Jarvies, the youngest child of Thomas Jefferson
Jarvies and Annie Frances Lopp of Double Springs, was born in 1895; this farm boy was schooled in nearby Mt. Gilead, but chose a career in business and subsequently enrolled in the Brantley Draughon Business College in Fort Worth. Upon graduation, he was employed by the First State Bank of Keller. After military service in World War I, he organized the Smithfield State Bank and in 1920, with Thomas B. White, organized the original Keller State Bank. The Jarvies house nurtured families for many years, until purchased as commercial property in the early 1980s. It first served as a multi-business co-op until 1991 when Peggy and Paul Harrison opened the delicious Cinnamon Sticks Tea Room. When the Harrisons retired in 2003, Kim Wood continued to run Cinnamon Sticks at 124 S Main until 2005 when she moved it to another location. Evie Masters opened Rosemary & Thyme in 2006 and continued the tea room tradition, but closed after only a few years. The house then served several short-lived businesses until a few years ago when Leanne Salinas opened the very well received Texas Harvest Pie Company. The recent closure of Harvest Pie has ended the tenure of this house on Main Street and the next few months will determine whether it can continue to exist at all. This house is scheduled for demolition this summer to make way for additional development. The current owner, Cary Moon of Old Town Tavern, has very generously offered to donate the house to the Foundation contingent on its removal from the property within his construction timeline. We hope that with the help of many we can preserve this notable part of Keller’s history and relocate it to another Old Town location for use as a much needed History and Conference Center. We hope that you will support our effort to continue the legacy of the Jarvies House.To contribute, go to the donations page. Thank you!
