PHOTOS BY DAVID LOWE David and Binnie Hoffman have restored the Frank Gholson home in far northern Lampasas County. Gholson, who built the house in 1872, served as a Texas Ranger and Indian fighter. The fading rays of evening glow off the sturdy limestock blocks of the restored Frank and Adeline Gholson house near Evant. Soft light indoors highlights the rich brown hues of Texas furniture.

And although cedars and mesquites in recent years have grown up to shade the home, when surveying the area's hills and fertile pastures one still glimpses much of the panoramic view that attracted one of Lampasas County's most famous Indian fighters to Gholson Cove.

After nearly three decades of intermittent work and five years of intense efforts, David and Binnie Hoffman have restored the Gholson home, located at the northern end of Lampasas County. Restoration professionals with an interest in history, the Hoffmans found the Gholson house, and its former occupants, compelling.

Gholson served three terms as a Texas Ranger and during the Civil War participated in the retaking of Galveston as part of the Second Regiment of Texas Cavalry.

A swimming pool at David and Binnie Hoffman's home leads to a studio and guest house the couple constructed by restoring and enlarging a frame house on their north Lampasas County property. After an initial purchase in 1977, the Hoffmans acquired additional land that once belonged to Frank and Adeline Gholson. An "enthusiastic Indian fighter," according to Mrs. Hoffman's history "The Gholson House: Evant, Texas," Gholson fought in December 1860 in the Pease River campaign in Foard County. Under the command of Capt. Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Texan troops killed several Comanches and recovered Cynthia Ann Parker. The white woman had been captured by Indians at the age of nine in an attack on Fort Parker, near present-day Mexia. She eventually married Comanche Chief Peta Nocona and bore him two sons and a daughter.

After living nearly a quarter-cen- tury as a Comanche, Cynthia Ann Parker had "thoroughly acculturated" to Indian ways and died after an unhappy 10 years of life in white society, according to Margaret Schmidt Hacker's book "Cynthia Ann Parker: The Life and the Legend."

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID AND BINNIE HOFFMAN An early photograph shows members of the Frank and Adeline Gholson family at their home in far northern Lampasas County. Gholson built his family's twostory stone house in 1872, choosing a location where 360-degree views allowed him to spot Indians easily. The former Texas Ranger, along with mason Joseph Drake, constructed the home in two years "between drinks," as the Rev. Sam Drake, Drake's grandson, told Mrs. Hoffman.

Gholson became a successful cattleman, and the Hoffmans believe his family's home had somewhat nicer features than many late- 19th-century residences. Mrs. Gholson was proud to have one of the first cook-stoves in Lampasas County, Mrs. Hoffman said.

Convinced that Mexican treasure had been buried near the cove, Gholson spent many days digging for precious metals. His wife often asked him to use the holes he had dug to create storm cellars.

The Gholson house underwent several changes over the years. The family added a frame kitchen and porch to the rear of their house in the 1890s, and about 1915 they removed half the second floor and lowered the roof. In interviews with Mrs. Hoffman, Gholson grandchildren suggested a variety of explanations.

PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE The interior of the restored Gholson house features a variety of furniture consistent with late-19th-century style. The Hoffmans salvaged some fireplace face stones from a house in Lampasas that was set for demolition. Some said Mrs. Gholson decided the house was too large and too difficult to heat and clean. Others believe the Gholson daughters lobbied for a bungalow-type style. The Hoffmans also wonder whether drainage problems may have contributed to the remodeling.

The Hoffmans discovered the Gholson property while visiting a ranch some friends' parents owned. The stone ruins of the Gholson house were the first aspect of the property to attract the couple's attention.

"It sort of found us, rather than us finding it," Mrs. Hoffman said.

PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE A wardrobe, bed and nightstand in an upstairs bedroom in the Hoffmans' home were built by early Texas cabinetmakers. Their friends' father told them the owner of the ruins, a Gholson descendant, lived out of state. He warned the couple they would be wasting their time if they tried to buy the property, as the owner had declined several other offers.

When the Hoffmans contacted the owner in Minnesota, however, he immediately asked how many acres they wanted. The Hoffmans later learned the owner had declined previous offers -- which came from kin -- because he did not want to alienate any relatives through a family sale.

Hoffman bought the house and four acres of the former Gholson property in August 1977, two years before he and his wife married. The Hoffmans later purchased additional acreage.

Restoration progressed slowly for many years, as the couple lived and worked in Austin. When they were able to devote time to their Lampasas County property, they slept in an orange tent and had no running water or electricity.

When the Hoffmans began their work, the only structures they found were the stone ruins of the Gholson house, the front half of an abandoned frame house and a dilapidated goat shed. The land had been grazed to wind-swept dirt and was covered with scrap metal, old car bodies, discarded refrigerators and other refuse.

"It took many, many loads on flatbed trailers just to get the garbage out," Mrs. Hoffman said.

As their daughters entered their teenage years, a variety of activities -- along with a growing demand for hair dryers -- kept the family from leaving Austin to camp at their remote property as often as they would have liked.

"We realized it was beyond the scope of a weekend warrior project," Hoffman said of the restoration work.

Supplying much of the labor themselves, the Hoffmans eventually finished the task, even though the restoration required a laborious dismantling and rebuilding of the structurally unstable stone walls. Hoffman numbered every stone and laid them in a pattern on the ground to ensure the masons put them in the proper places when rebuilding the walls. Stone work took a year and a half.

The oldest surviving photograph of the Gholson home shows a log cabin, with a stone fireplace, located behind the main residence. The family may have lived originally in the log cabin, but with 13 children -- including two sets of twins who died at birth -- the Gholsons eventually constructed their larger residence. The log building then became a kitchen and smokehouse.

"With 13 children, I would've made it a bunk house before I made it a kitchen," Hoffman said, grinning.

The Hoffmans spent 10 years restoring a cabin very similar to the original and now use it as a guest house.

They found the replacement cabin on property some friends' grandparents owned between Lampasas County and Austin. The Hoffmans extracted the cabin from a frame house that had been built around it and put it back together like Lincoln Logs.

The Hoffmans moved to the former Gholson property full-time about 11 years ago. At that time, they restored the abandoned frame house, doubled its size and use it as a studio and guest house. They began their intense restoration work on the stone Gholson house about five years ago.

Two of Frank and Adeline Gholson's grandchildren visited their ancestors' property shortly after Hoffman purchased the house. Based on a series of interviews, Mrs. Hoffman compiled an oral history and developed a map of features no longer in existence at the residence.

"I've always loved the detective work aspect of the research phase," Mrs. Hoffman said.

Gholson offspring call the Hoffmans and drive by the house so regularly that the couple has created a guest book at their home specifically for Gholson descendants.

A Gholson family reunion each summer also attracts many visitors.

"We always know when it's reunion time, because people start trickling in," Mrs. Hoffman said.

Along with Mrs. Hoffman's work and Gholson descendants' reminiscences, Donna Gholson Cook's book "Gholson Road: Revolutionaries and Texas Rangers" has preserved much of the family's history.

In restoring the house, the Hoffmans tried to re-create the original exterior look of the vernacular Greek Revival home. The couple has embellished the interior with pieces consistent with the period, although not necessarily original. Some of the furnishings -- including a 19th-century wardrobe, bed and nightstand -- were built by early Texas cabinetmakers, although the Hoffmans found other accessories out of state and on eBay.

The couple have made an addition to the original stone house and plan to add a back porch, as few traces of the original could be found in the 1970s. For now, though, the Lampasas Countians are savoring the pieces of history they have resurrected.

"I just enjoy bringing something back -- something that might otherwise be lost," Hoffman said.