Aber House - Jacksonville, TX - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

"Located to the south of the center of Jacksonville, Texas, the Aber and Haberle houses are a closely related pair of brick, two-story residences. Both houses reflect the popularity of the Queen Anne and Eastlake styles of the late 19th century, with their asymmetrical massing and elaborate machine-turned millwork. Built for two brothers-in-law, the houses relate to one another in terms of general form, although specific details vary on each house.

The roof design of the Aber House, the northernmost of the two structures, consists of a central pyramidal section with numerous intersecting gables. The Aber House features the more ornate exterior millwork of the two structures, which is centered on the two-story porch that wraps around the north and east (front) elevations. The front entrance to the house is highlighted by a portico which projects towards the east. The millwork of the first-floor porch consists of turned columns which sit on square bases. The balusters between the columns are very bulbous in form. The upper segment of the column shafts is flanked by pierced brackets which appear to support the finely executed, interlocking spindle frieze. This frieze adds an almost oriental aspect to the front porch. The gable of the projecting entry porch contains' an elaborately pierced millwork panel. The second-story section of the porch is considerably less ornate, although it is known from early photographs that this was not always the case. The corner of the second-story porch was once framed by the base of a two-story tower, the upper section of which was octagonal. This tower, which was clad in wooden shingles, was removed early in the 20th century but the porch framework was maintained. Simple, square, wooden posts support the roof above the porch floor, with attenuated brackets flanking the post caps. A narrow spindle frieze is set above these brackets. The porch structure terminates on both the east and north elevations against a two-story gabled bay. These bays are virtually identical to each other, with a single large window on the first floor fitted with wooden sashes and one-over-one lights. The upper section features a border of small panes of glass surrounding the large center pane. The second-floor opening contains a pair of one-over-one windows with similarly treated glazing. The openings on both the first and second floors are segmentally arched, and the arches are highlighted by raised brickwork. The faces of the gables contain a semicircular window, while the peak of the gable is decorated by a verge board that combines turned and perforated millwork trim.