Two 150-year-old properties have come up for sale the past week in downtown Shreveport. They are two of the few remaining historic homes in the downtown district, and if walls could talk, these pretty little homes would have hours of stories to tell.

758 Austin Place

The smaller of the homes, at 758 Austin Place, is the Dalzell House, 1096 SF, 1BD/1BA. The seller will survey to lot lines allowing for a huge backyard or future parking area.

The home, constructed in circa 1870, was once the rectory of the then- St. Marks Episcopal Church. That church is now the Church of the Holy Cross on Cotton Street. The Reverend William Tucker Dickinson Dalzell was the pastor at the church during the 1873 Yellow Fever Epidemic. Rev. Dalzell recognized the illness that was sweeping through the community and warned many of his parishioners to leave the area, advice for which he was publicly admonished. He was also one of the strongest voices in denying that God has used the fever as a ‘punishment for sin.’

Front of the Cooke House, 754 Austin Place.

 

Rear of the Cooke House, 754 Austin Place.

The adjacent Cooke House at 754 Austin Place is the larger of the two. Also built in 1870, the 2310 SF home is now being used as a four-plex with 2 efficiency apartments in the back, and a 1 bedroom and large studio apartment in the front. A portion of lots are also offered to create a large backyard or private parking area.

The Realtor for the properties is Paula Anderson, a Realtor in the state of Louisiana with Mickey Fertitta Properties, 318-218-3707.