604 Holbrook Avenue, built about 1910 in the rare (for Danville) Prairie Style, was designed by Lynchburg Architect Charles G. Petit for William H. Deitrick, a successful real estate developer. Pettit’s other designs included the Elks Club on Main Street and the Schoolfield School on Baltimore Avenue. Built for speculation, its first owner was George A. Watson, who purchased the home in 1911 at the (then) considerable sum of $6,000.
George Alanson Watson was the son of John T. Watson whose home on Chestnut Street is one of the oldest still standing. George was born on the 4th of December 1859 in Danville. and employed himself in the tobacco trade. In 1884, the 25 year old George married 18 year old Sallie R. Keen, daughter of John Thomas Keen and Mary Virginia Doe Keen. Sallie was second cousin to Nancy Witcher Langhorne, who would eventually earn the title Lady Astor.
Having moved from a much smaller house on Broad Street, George was only able to enjoy his newly constructed home, one of the last to be developed on Holbrook avenue, for about seven years before his death on the 8th of January 1918 of a sudden heart attack. Mrs. Keen remained in the home until 1939 when she sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Hundley. They owned the home for only a year before selling it to sisters, Elizabeth and Mary Oliver.
Elizabeth, born July 21, 1896 and Mary, born November 24, 1901 were daughters of Clarksville natives William Lewis and Julia Goode Dabbs Oliver. The girls were educated in the Clarksville public schools before Attending Averett College, where Mary and Elizabeth earned their Bachelor’s degrees. Mary went on to Randolph-Macon Women’s college, from which institution she earned her Master’s of Arts degree, while Elizabeth received her Master’s degree from New York University. The sisters were well known figures in the community and were both employed at George Washington High School, from which Mary retired in 1964 as head of the History Department. Elizabeth taught music and glee club.
Mary died at the Holbrook avenue home on October 8, 1970 quite suddenly from a heart attack described in her death certificate as a “cardiac standstill” due to a coronary thrombosis. Four years before her own death, in 1973, Elizabeth sold the home to Lee Eugene and Patsy Ann Bird, who reside there today. It was the Birds who added the brick wall with its iron gate which encloses the yard, lending an English cottage feel to the home.
Pat Bird was born and raised in Danville, but, having married a military man, she moved around a lot, eventually ending up in San Diego, California. At one point, Pat’s sister came to visit them from Danville, and the two had so much fun together they got to talking about what it might be like to live near each other again. Pat’s sister Eva and her husband, Peyton Barbour lived at 636 Holbrook Avenue, and when Eva saw that the house 604 Holbrook Avenue was on the market, she told her sister about it. The Birds bought the home and moved back to Danville. Shortly after, Mr. Barbour died, and so Eva found it necessary to move to Lynchburg to take a job at Liberty University teaching art. Eva passed away, having contracted a sudden lung ailment during the Canadian smoke fire infiltration, in the summer of 2023.
The Birds have maintained the beautiful home for fifty years and raised three sons there. One son, Lonnie, was a talented woodworker who taught fine woodworking and furniture making classes from his home in Tennessee. After he and his wife moved to Tennessee, he opened up a woodworking shop and taught classes. He has been featured in many magazines and is known nationally for his expertise. He made several pieces of furniture for the Deitrick home. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 17 and survived the disease for many years. Sadly, he passed away in November of 2022, but his work can be seen at his website. The Birds have two other sons who are still living. Geoffrey lives in Texas and works as an actuary for the insurance company AIG. Stephen has a Doctorate in Communications and works for Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
After retiring from the Navy, Mr. Bird went to work for Goodyear. Before meeting Mr. Bird, Pat attended high school at George Washington High School when it was located on Holbrook Avenue. She later joined the Airforce where she received training to work in flight traffic control. She met Mr. Bird while visiting her sister in Maryland when she was 18. Pat was one time involved in many organizations including the city choir, the Danville Historical Society, and worked as a docent at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. The Birds are presently celebrating their 66th year of marriage.
The Deitrick house was featured twice on the Danville Historical Society’s walking tour. The first year, there was a snowstorm, and not many people turned out, so they did again the following year.
Sources:
Census and Vital records found at Familysearch.org
Images and vital information, including biographical sketches found at FindaGrave.com
Death notices and other information found in the Danville Register, Danville Bee and other newspaper archives at Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank.com
Census, Directory, Newspaper, and other information compiled by Paul Liepe
Danville Historical Society Holiday Tour archive
