Blue Bonnet Farm is described in the National Historic Buildings Survey as a typical, unpretentious classic revival house of the mid-19th century. Two women, both visionary and tireless in their efforts to construct this house, are credited with its completion. Jane Cutrer acquired 600 acres with her husband, Hiram A. Cutrer, in 1842 and, after his death and the War Between the States, oversaw the construction in 1869 of the home they had envisioned. The site was carefully chosen with the crest of a wooded hill already serving as a trade route linking the port of Galveston with inland sources as far north as St. Louis. Today, it is known as Trammel’s Trace, named for a lieutenant who served with the pirate, Jean Lafitte.

Huge cypress timbers cleared from the land became the foundation and support for the single-level frame structure. It has a four-columned portico and classic pattern of two square rooms sharing an interior chimney on either side of a wide central breezeway that served as a parlor. The heart pine tongue and groove flooring was provided from the tallest, straightest trees. Additionally, the double doors with simple transoms and 13 ½ foot ceilings along with native oaks both in front and back of the home provided shade and helped keep the home cool. It is believed that Jane Cutrer lived in a two-room cabin dating from 1847 during the home’s construction; those rooms were connected to the main home by a rear gallery and currently are in use on the west wing that forms an ell to the house.

In 1939, Dolly Bell Key, also a widow, purchased the house. Time had taken a toll on the structure, so she wanted to restore and furnish the house to open as a museum. She intended the furnishings to accurately depict the period of 1840-1876 and began assembling such treasures as the late 18th century gentlemen’s wig dresser, a primitive walnut plantation desk, and a handsome square piano that had been shipped from New Orleans to Jefferson before being hauled by oxcart to Myrtle Springs for a Key ancestor.

A definitive collection of tools and utensils of bygone years also needed a place for display. With “commendable restraint and a reasonable degree of authenticity”, as recorded in the Texas Unit, Index of American Design, Key bricked in a lower level and designed an interior staircase for access. With that structural addition came the designation by the Texas Historical Commission of Blue Bonnet Farm as a Louisiana raised cottage. Wrought iron galleries in the New Orleans manner and a brick-framed courtyard with a circular fountain added ambiance to the farmhouse that was soon to close as a museum and become home to the next generation of Keys. The remaining projects included the addition of closets and bathrooms, artfully tucked beside the upstairs chimneys, and division of the downstairs quarters into an informal kitchen and dining area.

In the meantime, the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club had embarked upon a project that hit a major snag. The fledgling Dogwood Trail threatened to flounder due to drought resulting in stunted blossoms. According to records, Dolly Bell Key, then living in Marshall, ventured that Jefferson’s old homes held a fascination for visitors and might replace the dogwoods as a drawing card. Thus, the Pilgrimage home tours were born in 1942. Blue Bonnet Farm was one of six homes open for tours that first year. It is only fitting that as we celebrate this 80th Pilgrimage anniversary, Blue Bonnet Farm opens its doors to visitors once again.

Ownership passed from Dolly Bell to her son, David Key, who moved into Blue Bonnet Farm upon returning from serving in the U.S. Army’s First Infantry Division during World War II. David lived at Blue Bonnet Farm for the rest of his life, first with his wife Carolyn Swann and their children, Hobart (Rudd) Key and Swann Key Wicker, and then, after Carolyn’s death, with his second wife, Frances Aimer, and their daughter, Amy Key Keith. Amy and her husband, Frederick Keith, are the current owners of the home and happily enjoy sharing it with their three children, David, Will, and Amelia Keith.