The Brantleys in 1950 behind their house on what is now San Lorenzo. Behind them is farmland beyond the intersection of San Lorenzo and Gus Thomasson (photo courtesy of Becki Brantley).
A uniquely positioned Dutch style farmhouse on San Lorenzo in Casa View is a relic of an age when East Dallas was more farmland than subdivisions.
Becki Brantley is an eighth generation Texan whose father, Charlie Harman, once owned the home and surrounding land, which was purchased by her grandfather Jim in the early to mid 1940s. The home was moved to 10271 San Lorenzo in Casa View from Gus Thomasson, where it was built as a farmhouse. Jim built the adjacent brick house on the property at an angle that provided easy access between the two homes. Brantley’s great grandmother lived there and used a wheelchair.
The house as it looks today (photo by Lucan Watkins).
The family farmed cotton and okra and raised chickens in the area. Brantley remembers hearing that a shipment of chickens once arrived on the cusp of a cold snap while a bird virus was infecting area chickens. For a period, the family lived upstairs in the home and the chicks stayed warm and healthy downstairs.
The area was full of farmland and woods at the time, and Brantley’s father would often go hunting nearby. He told a story about a friend who accidentally shot her father (he survived) near where Easton intersects with Lake Gardens today.
The land was sold off and the home was rented out over the years. The home stayed in the family until just a few years ago.
“I never imagined something that’s been a part of my life all my life would be a curiosity to others,” Brantley says.
Brantley’s father with their family car in front of their garage (photo courtesy of Becki Brantley).
