The Parker house is located in historic Hillsboro, New Mexico. Built in 1894, the house is named after the original owner, Judge Frank W. Parker:
Judge Parker was an attorney and judge who presided over one of the most famous court cases in the area, the trial of Oliver Lee and Jim Gililland for the murder of 8-year-old Henry Fountain. An excellent article about Judge Parker can be found on the Hillsboro Historical Society’s page:
http://hillsborohistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/judge-frank-wilson-parker-frontier.html
The Judge built and lived in the Parker house while working at the courthouse located next door. The courthouse was built in 1892 when Hillsboro was the county seat, and was removed in 1939. The courthouse in its original glory:
And the courthouse and jail as they look now:
The Parker house has gone through many changes over the years. Here’s the house viewed from the courthouse ruins in 1949:
This is an undated picture, thought to have been taken in the late 1950’s after an extensive remodel:
The Parker house as it stands now:
Over the years the house has had a number of changes and repairs made to it ranging from bad to absolutely hideous (the purple carpet in the downstairs bedroom and dining room comes to mind.)
Our goal is to bring the house back to a more historically-accurate state, with the final design to look much like the picture taken in the 50’s. It will be a long but interesting road, I’m sure…