02 Feb 2022 Riddles create home dedicated to faith, family and service
By Stefanie Brazile
Jeff and Julie Riddle built their “forever home” in Damascus with timber harvested from family land. They filled it with heirlooms that make coming home a feeling of being connected to their heritage. The couple hosts events at the rustic, 5,000-square-foot house that is strategically situated so they cannot see civilization and can enjoy the relaxing view of cattle grazing.
When you turn into the driveway, you are greeted with their Circle R brand and that image is subtly repeated inside the home and on permanent hardscapes in the yard. They began building in 2015.
“We wanted a rustic look and wanted our privacy and to enjoy the view,” Julie said. “It was a labor of love.”
A brick home with pine and cypress timbers framing the porches, the Riddles built three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a loft (bonus living area), and two spacious porches, one with a wood-burning fireplace. The view from the living room and porches seems to go on forever, with sparkling ponds dotting an idyllic farming landscape. There is a guest house and a play area for the grandkids.
In 1959, Jeff’s grandfather moved to Damascus from West Texas and married a local girl from Rosebud. Later, P.E. and Olevia Riddle purchased 450 acres for $40,000. He was a share crop farmer in Texas, but he used the acreage as a dairy farm. “People thought, ‘You crazy Texan, you’ll never pay for this.’ But he did and lived on the place until his death in 2008,” Jeff said.
Later, Jeff’s father bought 200 acres from his parents and, later, an adjoining 60 acres. Jeff’s parents still live “next door” and Jeff and his dad run an active cattle farm. This is the land that provided the wood for Jeff and Julie’s dream home.
Besides being a home builder and cattle farmer, Jeff has another skill set in his tool belt. He chairs the Physical Education Department at Central Baptist College (CBC) and is an assistant professor of health and PE.
“We lived in Greenbrier for 21 years and raised our boys there,” he said. “When we sold our home, we built our forever home here on the farm.”
Once they started building, it took about six months, except for some side projects like building a headboard, bedside tables, and finishing out the staircase with leftover barn wood.
“We cut and milled pine trees from this land and my mom’s family land in Damascus,” Jeff said. “It was milled onsite. That’s one of the unique things. We built a modern home out of milled lumber.”
Milling means that once a tree is cut, it’s sawed-up with a band saw. In the past, it would have been cut with a big, circular saw. Then the wood was stored in a barn on the property so it could dry/cure for one to two years before it was ready to use. They sawed all of the main framing material onsite and used some of the authentic, rough-sawn lumber as well. Julie stained all of it.
When you enter the home, the view of pastureland dominates your attention. Large windows frame the view up to a vaulted ceiling in the living room. The support beams are branded with their Circle R. “It was a labor of love,” Julie said. “And a labor of leaving something for our kids, too. We hope to pass this place on to them.”
In the meantime, the couple shares their home with others. For 25 years, they have hosted CBC students for Fall Hay Day each October. “All of the student body is invited and we have a double trailer hayride, two fire pits, the kids roast marshmallows and play games,” he said. “It’s really a neat experience for a lot of those kids because they don’t get to see wide open spaces like this.” Typically, 120 to 150 students plus faculty, staff, and their families attend.
Each Sunday night, the Riddles host the small group that they are a part of at Antioch Baptist Church. This group is also invited to a hayride, along with the Antioch Student Ministries and their Sunday school class. “We want to share the blessings that God has given us,” Jeff said. “We are blessed to live here and we dedicated it to the Lord.”
Their friends from church also took part in the building process. “Before the sheetrock was installed, we had a ‘Scripture Signing’ and friends from our small group and church staff wrote scripture all over the studs and walls. And we had a dedication prayer,” Julie said.
Under the stairway, their pastor wrote “He will guide your steps.” When the storage under the stairwell is accessed, the scripture is visible.
While the home has rustic elements, they are combined with modern conveniences. Hidden beneath stained concrete is a radiant heating system divided into three zones. A separate water tank heats water in the pipes to warm the floors. Typically, the floor in the master suite is heated year round to keep it cozy.
“A lot of our furniture has meaning behind it as well,” Julie said. She proudly displays her great-great-grandmother’s chair and hope chest, which is 250 years old. On her 16th birthday, her grandmother gave her the great-great-grandmother’s sofa to be used as her hope chest. Her grandmother also crocheted pot holders and keepsakes for Julie.
One such keepsake is displayed on her bedroom wall and marks Jeff and Julie’s 25th wedding anniversary. Other hutches, a China cabinet, rocking chairs, and tables honor family members who have passed on but are not forgotten by the sentimental couple.
On a farm that’s belonged to the Riddle family for 65 years, Jeff and Julie have built a home by hand, and their love and hospitality seem to have no borders, just like the view from the porch.
