1816 C Street (Hedge House)
Current owners: James Walla & Julie Thomson
Built in 1908
C.A. Schaaf, contractor
Estimated Time to Tour: 10 mins
Key Things to See:
★ Original pocket windows—designed to disappear into the walls.
★ Dining room servant’s bell in the floor—a preserved detail from early 20th-century home service.
★ Lion’s head hardware and push-button handles—original pocket doors showcasing rare craftsmanship.
Verne Hedge, Lincoln's premier title abstractor (his father's business) who produced detailed records of ownership, debts, and liens for the real estate market, purchased the lot from Frank Woods in 1904, after Woods moved his home from the site (to 1220 S. 20th St.; Hedge's parents lived at 1845 Washington St.). Hedge married Grace Bennett in 1904. He was among the first civil engineering graduates of UNL, a founding member of Sigma Tau engineering honorary fraternity. Hedge planned his 1908 wood-frame, brick and stucco-clad American Foursquare (Prairie Box) home; in 1909, after their first child (of three) was born. Hedge served as Lincoln's mayor, 1927-28. He and George Woods selected the site for Pioneers Park and handled the transaction when it was presented to the city by John Harris, who purchased it. You'll see the Hedge name on the coal chutes when you exit; the family resided here for at least 60 years. The hot water heat system continues to operate. Subsequent owners, Dr. Gerry Brookes, English professor, and his wife Anne, during their 40 years here, updated areas of the first floor that you will tour, while maintaining historical integrity. She was involved in the Preservation Association of Lincoln.
In the entryway, you will see the original brass ceiling light and sconce (two more which are in the living room, one outside the water closet) and coat hooks. The push-button switches control the porch lights, similar switches in the living room and stair top. The stairway is quarter-sawn oak with built-in bookshelves on the landing, next to the doorway that was the original servant's stairs to the kitchen. The diamond windows are featured throughout the home, as is the quarter-sawn oak flooring. The Brookes' added custom built bookshelves, by James E. Young, to either side of the fireplace (and removed the white paint from the brick). There are pocket windows above designed to lift into the walls. Pocket doors, with lion's head hardware and push-button handles, lead into the dining room, which has a built-in china cabinet to the north (a flowering crab tree is visible out the window above) , beamed ceiling, and servant's bell in the center of the floor. Another owner added the wall sconces and chandelier. The swinging door goes to the butler's pantry, now an updated breakfast nook. Brookes added floor-to-ceiling storage and the kitchen was remodeled in the mid 1980s by Curt Donaldson. The linoleum was recently removed to reveal white maple flooring, and floor tile. A backsplash was added, faucet, and counters updated. Just past the kitchen, a new waterfall sink by the water closet was installed. You'll exit down the stairs out the west door.