The Chandler-Powdrell House

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In 1930, W.I. Curtis conveyed this lot to G.B. Chandler and his wife, Nettie. Curtis did not have a homestead designation on the property, so this may have been a vacant lot, but the Chandlers executed a mechanic’s lien with Shamburger Lumber Company for $1,000—This was during the depression, so this money went a long way, and labor was cheap.

The house at 610 S. Avenue C was large, and various people rented it, so the owners split two floors. In my memory, a Kirkpatrick Family rented part of the house in the early 40s and left Olney to go to Seattle to work in the defense industry during World War II and never returned.

In 1946, the Chandlers sold the property to Sam J. Furr, Jr. (1915-2008), a native of the area who had just returned after graduating from the University of Texas and after working in real estate in Ft. Worth. Sam was very active in the community in real estate and politics since he had experience as justice of the peace, municipal judge, chamber of com merce manager and a Lion’s club member of note. He and his wife Margaret had two daughters—Margaret (Darden) and Betty (Richie), with the sons-in-law being lawyers.

Also, Sam and his wife built a house in the 900 block of W. Main that was hit by the 1951 tornado and later rebuilt as a one-story home.

Still, in 1946, Sam flipped the S. Avenue C house to C.C. Carpenter, who, in 1947, flipped the house to Joe McDonald and his wife, Cecil. Finally, in 1950, the McDonalds sold the house to John N. Wilkins (1897-1970) and his wife, Lora. Wilkins was chief of police at one time and a policeman for the city. The Wilkinses had a boy, and a girl—Bill and Mrs. M. J. Hurst—who conveyed the house to Lora in 1970 after John’s passing.

Following Lora’s death in 1979, the heirs sold the property to Steve Slater and Dan Winningham. In 1981, Dan sold the property one year later to the current owner, Isaac B. Powdrell, and his wife, Elena.

Correction to the Homes of Olney article published in the May 19, 2022 issue of Olney Enterprise. We published the wrong photo for the phone for the property located at 827 S. Avenue C, Olney, TX. The correct photo is below. We apologize for the error.