• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published April 2, 2009 at 6:03 p.m., updated April 2, 2009 at 6:03 p.m.

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To tell the story of the historic Hill-O'Connor-Howard House is to tell the love story between its two owners.

As the two fell in love with each other, they fell in love with the house, effectively saving it from a date with the wrecking ball. Now, the house is restored and better than ever, even making it onto the Victoria Historic Homes Tour, and the two owners are living in their own happily ever after.

The story of the house begins back in 1898 when it was first built, but the story of its redemption begins just a few years ago. Louise Hull Patillo and Dennis Patillo were both area Realtors with a soft spot for animals and antiques. They began dating, and when it started getting serious, the two started looking at houses together, Hull said.

"We saw this one, and it made sense for us. It was an old house, and within five minutes we said, 'We need it,'" she said, adding that they bought the house in 2002. "We made an offer the very next day."

Beautiful though it was, there was no denying that the house needed work, from foundation to roof. Thus began a renovation process to bring the Hill-O'Connor-Howard House back to her former glory, lasting for 15 months straight and including more renovation work in the following years.

"Our goal was to make the house look as much like we think it used to," Hull said. "It was an overwhelming process to rewire, replumb, replaster, repaper, repaint."

Patillo chimed in that most of the work done was to save the structure and preserve it.

"This wasn't a cosmetic thing. The house had 14 feet of water underneath it that was destroying the foundation," he said. "We had to ship 19 dump trucks full of soil out from underneath to let it dry out."

That experience, however, bonded the couple. After the last of the major renovations, the two got married on the home's property in 2007 in the newly restored gardens.

"It's funny. We did everything a bit backward. First we bought the house, restored it, then we got married. Most people break up after doing a home renovation like this," Patillo laughed.

The home will be featured during this weekend's annual Historic Homes Tour, along with four other Victoria homes. Originally, the home was built for Joe L. Hill in 1898 and 1899 by John W. Henderson. Located at the corner of Power Avenue and Washington Street, it is one of only two brick houses from the Victorian era left in the city, Victoria Preservation Inc. director Gary Dunnam said.

The house was sold throughout the years to various prominent families in Victoria. By 1992, it was sold to David Whitney, who converted the home into a bed and breakfast that never took off.

Part of the Patillos' restoration efforts centered on reversing the construction Whitney had done, such as adding small bathrooms to each room, and returning the two-story home to its 19th-century glory.

"It's really remarkable what these two did," Dunnam said.

With 11-foot ceilings, large bay windows and the Patillos' meticulous attention to period details, walking through their door is taking a step back through time. But for the Patillos, walking through the door is finally coming home.

"We love this house. We're never going to sell it," she said. "We plan to die here."

• To go

  The 23rd annual Historic Homes Tour will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday in the historic district of Victoria. Pre-sale tickets are $12 and available at the Cultural Council of Victoria, Rogers Pharmacy, Shop the ...

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To go

The 23rd annual Historic Homes Tour will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday in the historic district of Victoria. Pre-sale tickets are $12 and available at the Cultural Council of Victoria, Rogers Pharmacy, Shop the World and Laurent Street Antiques Mall. Tickets are $15 the day of the tour.

Other homes on tour:

L.C. Hooper House, 1305 N. Bridge St.

Albert B. Alkek House, 1403 North Glass St.

R.L. Daniel Cottage, 1205 N. Vine St.

W.J. Kutchka House, 707W. San Antonio St.

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