Stories Abound Regarding Dallas Home's History

There are conflicting stories about the origins of a historic home on Memorial Drive near the overpass. Some say it was built in the 1900s and some say it was used as a government building, while others say it was constructed in the 1800s and used as a brothel.

“I don’t know about that,” homeowner Judy Teal said. “We have so many people come in and tell us things.”

Teal and her husband, Joe, bought the house at 431 Memorial Drive three years ago. They first planned to use it as a rental home but ultimately decided to open Joe Teal’s chiropractic office in the home.

While the Teals said they have put a lot of work into the house, much of the original aspects of the home still remain. The original windows and doors are still intact, and the Teals kept the high ceilings as much as possible, though they were lowered in what was the front hallway and in one room that now is used as an exam room to reduce heating and cooling costs. The front left bedroom, which now is an exam room, still has its original fireplace and, while the fireplace in the former living room on the front right side of the house “was completely gone” when the Teals bought the house and has been replaced, Judy Teal said she was careful to make sure the cast-iron fireplace looked as though it was built in the 1800s.

 “We tried to make it look like it would in those days,” she said. “Everyone thinks it was here before.”

A bookcase in the waiting room may have originally been a window as it is the same size as the windows flanking the front door. The back porch has been turned into an x-ray room, and a hallway leading to another bathroom used to be a porch as well. The home’s siding is still on the walls of the hallway.

“We tried to keep that old time look,” Teal said.

The house’s original kitchen is now Teal’s office, and its garage was closed in to create another room. In the 1950s, an addition was built on to the house with another room and a bathroom, which still has the pink tile and bathtub that were used 60 years ago.

In 1910, the house was purchased by Bob Bullock. He sold the home to his son, who lived there for many years. It later was bought by the Pickett family. Teal said the Pickett’s son killed his brother-in-law there for mistreating his sister, and stories also have been passed down about someone dying in the home’s well.

“I don’t know if that really happened,” Teal said. “When we first opened, people asked if we had ghosts. No, we don’t have any ghosts. (In fact), people say this house makes you feel good.”