Photo Courtesy of Leah Thomason Photography
YOUR HOME
Alegria Barn
By Parastoo Nikravesh
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estled next to Wolf Creek and surrounded by a picturesque dry stack stone rock fence is Alegria Barn. Upon entering, an unmistakable smell of old pine greets you and the high ceilings and wooden beams catch your attention. The building has rustic charm and elegance, but it is more than a standard Texas Hill Country barn — it is a piece of living history. Alegria is an antique barn that is over 200 years old and originally built in Exeter, New Hampshire — a city known as one of the capitals of the American Revolution. Alegria Barn, a property owned by the James Avery family, was originally a gift. “Alegria — which is known to mean joy, hope, happiness — was a personal
A piece of living history in The Hill Country
project of Mr. Avery’s for a very long time. He actually purchased Alegria as a gift for his wife Estela Avery,” said Summer West, director of sales and marketing for Alegria. Because of Estela Avery’s commitment to local nonprofits, James Avery wanted to give her a place to donate or make available for the community for nonprofit or private events and for Avery family functions. After searching for the perfect place, Avery eventually found Alegria in New England and brought it back to The Hill Country and finished rebuilding it in 2003. “Something we pride ourselves on about Alegria is that it was artisan designed with an event in mind. For Mr.
Avery, the events he had in mind were the events he and Estela would host for the community and privately.” Located between Kerrville and Fredericksburg at 15475 S. State Highway 16, Fredericksburg, Alegria has specially crafted artisan features, but at the heart of the building is the history. “There’s a lot of unique and historical components and it was very important to Mr. and Mrs. Avery that the original, historical architecture was intact once they got this project going,” West said. The building was originally a working dairy barn and the elements of those days are still apparent. There are 600 lbs poles made of New England pine that divide parts of the room that would represent where the dairy stalls would
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