The house nicknamed "Idle Hours" was built in 1903 by architect Frank T. Smith for L.P. Ogden and his wife Cynthia. Because the house was considered to be out in the country at the time of its construction, Mrs. Ogden preferred to retain her town home and named her new country estate "Idle Hours". The house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978. The home was owned by several prominent Beaumont families. In 1970 it was donated to Land Manor, a non-profit organization which subsequently converted the residence into a halfway house to help people return to society. In 2002 it once again became a private residence of the Bienvenu family and continues to be known by the many locals as "Bienvenu Manor". The Bienvenu family continues to do extensive renovations to restore the

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

, servant's quarters and the large main house.

References

Buildings and structures in Beaumont, Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Houses in Jefferson County, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Texas {{Texas-NRHP-stub

See also

References