3405 Pine Ridge Road
History
Welcome to our home! It’s hard to believe that with a home built circa 1930 that we are only the second family to live here.
The house was built by the Bissell family and the entire Pine Ridge/Mountain Brook Parkway area was literally “out in the country” at that time. Just two lots to the east of 3405 was a home with 7 acres and stables until the land was subdivided just a few years ago and when we purchased the home in 1974 there was a large farmhouse directly across the street (that property became Pine Ridge Circle). In the mid 70’s Mr. Philip Jackson (the former Jackson home was what is now the Featheringill home) told me how sad they were when Pine Ridge was paved ! He said that he and the neighbors enjoyed riding horses so often along the dirt road.
When Mr. and Mrs. Bissell passed away their daughter, “Sis” Bissell Henderson and her husband, Dr. Hiliary Henderson, lived in the home.
“Sis” was well known for her frequent and gala parties hosted at the house. Her “trademark” for entertaining was the endless array of hats she wore for the parties and we were told that if any lady came to the party without a hat that Sis would provide one! (Apparently, in her view the proper party attire included a fancy hat for every lady) I’m sure that if the house could
“speak” there would be a lot of great stories about the lively music, bright lights and laughter pouring out of their home.
Of course, we were drawn to the house for the house and land itself but when we learned the history of the tradition of so much laughter that had filled the house (not to mention the number of kids who were raised here)
that cinched it for us.
We purchased the house in 1974 and did not have children at that time but knew we wanted a family and saw this as a great place for us to raise a family (great location near Crestline and lots of room indoors and out)
That proved to be the case, so as we did the renovations for our family we had in mind plenty of outdoor spaces - the large front yard for games of all descriptions, the new and larger driveway in the rear to accommodate many cars and large enough to host parties for the kids as well as neighborhood parties and of course, the pool area and pool house not only for our family’s enjoyment, but to provide a perfect place for summer parties, having kids and families over to swim and cook out ( which began with swim lessons at age 3 to parties when they were in college ! ) We also found that having the pool house with a bathroom enabled us to keep most of the kids in that area instead of coming into the house wet!
What is now the den on the main level was an outdoor screened porch. We wanted a large family room so enclosed that area. At the same time, we added the 3 car (or two cars and a boat at the time) garage and the terrace above it. The two large rooms downstairs are now used as a guest suite with its own full bath. When we purchased the house the downstairs area was used mainly as an air conditioned storage area and the two large rooms were not connected. The large bedroom was originally a two car garage and the other was a laundry area and a small bathroom.
We decided to use that area to create an extra family room and play room for the kids with built in desk and cabinets for what we hoped would be a good study area for them. At that time the bathroom and laundry room were also added as was the section at the rear entry which connected the two areas. This also created a separate rear entrance with its own parking space at the door.
As our children got older these became their bedrooms and we have used it as a guest suite ever since.
While not exactly carrying out the tradition that “Sis” began, we’ve hosted dozens of birthday parties, team parties, neighborhood gatherings as well as dozens of great family Thanksgivings and Christmases here.
We hope you find as much joy in raising your family and enjoying your friends here as we have.
History
Welcome to our home! It’s hard to believe that with a home built circa 1930 that we are only the second family to live here.
The house was built by the Bissell family and the entire Pine Ridge/Mountain Brook Parkway area was literally “out in the country” at that time. Just two lots to the east of 3405 was a home with 7 acres and stables until the land was subdivided just a few years ago and when we purchased the home in 1974 there was a large farmhouse directly across the street (that property became Pine Ridge Circle). In the mid 70’s Mr. Philip Jackson (the former Jackson home was what is now the Featheringill home) told me how sad they were when Pine Ridge was paved ! He said that he and the neighbors enjoyed riding horses so often along the dirt road.
When Mr. and Mrs. Bissell passed away their daughter, “Sis” Bissell Henderson and her husband, Dr. Hiliary Henderson, lived in the home.
“Sis” was well known for her frequent and gala parties hosted at the house. Her “trademark” for entertaining was the endless array of hats she wore for the parties and we were told that if any lady came to the party without a hat that Sis would provide one! (Apparently, in her view the proper party attire included a fancy hat for every lady) I’m sure that if the house could
“speak” there would be a lot of great stories about the lively music, bright lights and laughter pouring out of their home.
Of course, we were drawn to the house for the house and land itself but when we learned the history of the tradition of so much laughter that had filled the house (not to mention the number of kids who were raised here)
that cinched it for us.
We purchased the house in 1974 and did not have children at that time but knew we wanted a family and saw this as a great place for us to raise a family (great location near Crestline and lots of room indoors and out)
That proved to be the case, so as we did the renovations for our family we had in mind plenty of outdoor spaces - the large front yard for games of all descriptions, the new and larger driveway in the rear to accommodate many cars and large enough to host parties for the kids as well as neighborhood parties and of course, the pool area and pool house not only for our family’s enjoyment, but to provide a perfect place for summer parties, having kids and families over to swim and cook out ( which began with swim lessons at age 3 to parties when they were in college ! ) We also found that having the pool house with a bathroom enabled us to keep most of the kids in that area instead of coming into the house wet!
What is now the den on the main level was an outdoor screened porch. We wanted a large family room so enclosed that area. At the same time, we added the 3 car (or two cars and a boat at the time) garage and the terrace above it. The two large rooms downstairs are now used as a guest suite with its own full bath. When we purchased the house the downstairs area was used mainly as an air conditioned storage area and the two large rooms were not connected. The large bedroom was originally a two car garage and the other was a laundry area and a small bathroom.
We decided to use that area to create an extra family room and play room for the kids with built in desk and cabinets for what we hoped would be a good study area for them. At that time the bathroom and laundry room were also added as was the section at the rear entry which connected the two areas. This also created a separate rear entrance with its own parking space at the door.
As our children got older these became their bedrooms and we have used it as a guest suite ever since.
While not exactly carrying out the tradition that “Sis” began, we’ve hosted dozens of birthday parties, team parties, neighborhood gatherings as well as dozens of great family Thanksgivings and Christmases here.
We hope you find as much joy in raising your family and enjoying your friends here as we have.