Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation volunteers have been pouring effort into the historic Dean Keener Crim Home for the better part of 25 years, and they’re excited to celebrate a milestone open house this Saturday.
The community is fast-approaching its sesquicentennial, and its oldest residence isn’t far behind. The ‘DKC House’ was built two years after the International Railraod first platted a town-site here on Buck Kilgore’s sprawling tract in 1874. According to KilgoreHistory.org, S.G. Dean invested in an acre “just east of the tracks and north of the station” in 1876.
Almost 150 years later, the renovated structure will be open to the public, admission free, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 17.
KHPF has partnered with Fred and Vivian Gebhardt of Kilgore Mercantile & Music as their annual ‘Tractors, Trucks & Fun‘ event runs during the same timeframe, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the heart of downtown. A trolley will be shuttling back and forth between the festivities and the DKC House, taking guests on a guided tour of other parts of the Main Street District in the midst of the activity.
KHPF’s volunteers are eager to show locals the work that’s gone into the home over the past two decades, spearheaded by multiple waves of dedicated helpers and funded by generous donations over the years.
“Come learn more about KHPF’s current and future efforts at the historic site.”
After securing his homestead for a grand total of $45, Dean collected his pine and oak lumber and built a one-story, two-room dwelling with a covered front porch.
“In 1881, Dean transferred his improved acre to L.J. and Allie Keener for $300,” KHPF’s historians report. “The Keeners added the two-story, four-bedroom west wing, with each bedroom containing a fireplace.
“In 1902, Wiley Newton Crim and his wife, Eudora, bought the home. They added the east side screen porch and extended a roofed porch across the back. It enclosed the still working well that draws water up by a hand-operated pulley that includes a rope and bucket.”
According to KHPH, the boom put seven wells in the yard.
The couple’s two daughters lived in the home for decades to come: Mabel, a recognized gardener, and Alleyn, who had a passion for cooking.
Family members stayed in the house on Lantrip Street at the head of Commerce until ’99.
“Generously entrusted to KHPF by the descendants of W. N. and Eudora Crim family in 2000, volunteers and donors have been maintaining the house for more than 20 years. Ongoing revitalization efforts by many dedicated KHPF members, helpers, and supporters have primed the home and our most recent DKC Project leaders have gotten us to the finish line for a public showing during National Preservation Month 2025.”
Learn more about the Dean Keener Crim Home at KilgoreHistory.org.
