A Little History

   The history of Windemere Mansion is an interesting one. This attractive brick home with its peaked roof and crenellations, situated on a crescent of Clear Lake, was once the home of Harold W. Fletcher, Hughes Tool Company Chief Engineer who eventually became Vice President and General Manager of the company. Built in 1929, this house was the permanent residence of the Fletcher family for several years.     
    Howard Hughes Jr. was a demanding boss and he eventually convinced Harold that he and his wife Audrey should move back to Houston in order to be closer to the business of running Hughes Tool Company. Harold's parents stayed in the house after the move.
    His father, W. H. Fletcher, made violins - he called them fiddles - for fun. He had beautiful surroundings for his workshop. As described in the Art Gravure section of a 1933 Houston Chronicle, the house was situated "to the right of the point where the Webster road approaches the lake." The same article captioned a picture saying, "One of the views from the front lawn of his son's home, where Mr. Fletcher pursues violin making, is the Clear Lake shore line, at about the point where interested citizens are advocating the establishment of a marine park." A photograph looking toward the main entrance of the Fletcher home was captioned, "When the violin maker glances up from his work in his well-equipped shop, this beautiful view through the front entrance greets him." One more caption reads, "The Harris County Park, not far away, is frequented daily by scores of Houstonians who find it a lovely breathing spot. Nearby is the palatial residence of J.M. West…"      Not much has changed. The land Windemere Mansion sits on is still "a beautiful view."
      In the 1970's the house and surrounding property came to be part of the Bal Harbour Association.

Bal Harbour Association, Inc.
123 Lakeside Lane, Nassau Bay, TX 77058
Office: 281-333-5168 (weekdays)
Fax: 281-333-5101
info@balharbourassociation.com
Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm (closed 12 pm-1 pm)
Office closed weekends

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This page last updated on December 30, 2011