D on and Vallorie Balsamo, owners of the Williams-Weigl House at 4107 Avenue H, honored two former Hyde Park families at a dedication ceremony for a State of Texas Historical Marker on Saturday, May 3, 2003. More than one hundred people attended, including many of the Williams and Weigl family members. The speakers, Claire (Williams) Martindale, Henry Williams, Betty (Weigl) Clutts, and Thomas Weigl, took the audience to times past by sharing remembrances of their families.

This Arts and Crafts bungalow was built around 1911 for Harvey Murdock Williams and his wife Euphemia. Harvey M. was employed by the Ramsey Nursery, located in what is now the Rosedale neighborhood. A 1917 family photograph shows the house with a similar color scheme, and looking very much as it does today with the exception of changes to the porch rails and front steps. The Williams' son, Harvey Sinclair, was a prominent Austin educator and baseball coach. He married Henrietta Stilwell in 1943, and they lived in the home until 1946. At that time Harvey S. left his job as principal of Austin High School and took a position with the Masonic Home and School in Ft. Worth. In 1977 Williams Elementary in south Austin was named for him, and he was inducted into the Austin Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 for his "Outstanding Contribution to the Sports in Austin."     F. Lee Weigl, a member of the celebrated F. Weigl Ironworks family, bought the house in 1947. He lived in the house until his death in 1988, and his wife Goldie remained in the house until 1992, when the house was sold to the

current owner. Lee's skill as a craftsman can be seen in the home's detailing, such as the porch rails, brackets, lamppost, and gates. He, his father Fortunat, and his brother Herbert created ornate ironwork seen in Austin and throughout Texas, including the Texas State Capitol, Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, the Commodore Perry Mansion, and the Elisabet Ney Museum. Public honors for the Weigl family include the Texas Heritage Foundation in 1953 and 1957, the Austin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1973 and the Austin Heritage Society in 1975. The Laguna Gloria Art Museum honored their work with a special exhibit in 1981, and same year that a Texas Historical Marker was dedicated at the former forge on Red River Street.     This home's walls "spoke" when the speakers from both families shared those ordinary moments that make a house a home. Claire Martindale told of family pictures showing her sister Jane Anne on the porch as a baby, and Betty Clutts remembered peeking around the front door at a blind date who later became her husband. Henry Williams told about the Hyde Park stores and businesses that his father visited, and Tom Weigl shared his father's work ethic, "Arbeit mach das Lieben suz," which means, "Work makes life sweet." These two families have made this home's history richer, and have added to the historic flavor of Hyde Park, Austin and the state of Texas.     The house also became a City of Austin Historic Landmark in November, 2000, and earlier that same year it was determined to be a Contributing Property within Austin's Hyde Park Historic District giving it full listing in the National Register of Historic Places.     Submitted by Don and Vallorie Balsamo, owners of the Williams-Weigl House, 4107 Avenue H, Austin, Texas.