In 1907, Pennsylavania native Emory E. Westervelt paid $6500 for this prairie farm home nestled among the new homes being built in the surrounding neighborhood. Mr. Westervelt, who began in territorial Guthrie as a Santa Fe railroad telegrapher, had become a real estate and communication systems entrepreneur with John Noble and E.A. Nims. He was heavily invested in the Pioneer Telephone Company and the builder at the Pioneer Building, Oklahoma City‘s first skyscraper.

‍Westervelt was generous with his new home. For the first two years he allowed David McKinstry, a partner in the telephone company, to live there with his family. Then the widower was joined in the home by his daughter, Lucille, his 79-year-old mother, and his younger brother, 36-year-old George. The Westervelts were also joined by the family of Owen N. Dailey, business manager of the telephone company. With him came his wife, a seven-year-old daughter and Dailey’s sister-in-law. The Daileys remained until 1917.

After the Westervelts moved next door, the house at 439 NW 14th passed through several families until it was purchased in 1930 by Cleveland Harrell, secretary treasurer of the Yellow Cab Company. Before he and his wife, Mickey, moved in they began a major remodeling that converted the Prairie farm home into an English Tudor cottage complete with steep gables, brick veneer, and an enlarged east side. During World War II, in 1945, the Harrell‘s daughter, Janette, walked down the stairs to be married in the newly styled living room. Pictures of her wedding hang in the downstairs powder bath.

After changing hands twice, the home was purchased in 1978 by Jon & Shirley Blaschke.Dr. Blaschke, a native of Texas, received his MD at the University of Oklahoma, then specialized in Immunology at the McBride Clinic. Mrs. Blaschke, the former Shirley Polk, grew up in Oklahoma City and became an activist supporting various projects in the neighborhood. With Mrs. Geoffrey Altshuler, she completed the research and planning for the street lighting project completed in 1982. The Blaschkes raised two daughters in the home and added a cedar fence around the backyard and renovated the interior.

Current homeowners David and Merideth Ferris purchased the house in December 2012 and completed restoration before making it their home in May 2013. They had admired the neighborhood for quite some time and were attracted to the warmth of the brick exterior and the flow of the interior.

They were delighted with the swimming pool and the fenced in front yard where their children could play. They also appreciated the home’s many original elements, including the Frankoma pottery fireplace in the living room and small water fountain in the kitchen.

Merideth and David refinished the wood floors and made extensive period appropriate renovations to windows and light fixtures, powder and master baths, and the kitchen backsplash. They also updated the landscaping. Family heirlooms from the 1880s to the early 1900s and English antiques, including a 1790s library table in the dining room, fill the home.

This contemporary family enjoys the history and heritage of their home but also its proximity to many great restaurants, art, sporting, cultural and community events in the flourishing Midtown and Downtown areas. Most of all, they love the neighborhood of beautiful homes, old trees, and friendly neighbors.

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