Restoring Cindy’s Mexia, TX Home
Purchased by the Foundation in 2022, we’re making ambitious plans to bring music back
When we purchased Cindy’s Mexia home in 2022, we knew we had a lot of work to do to restore it to a condition reflecting Cindy’s time there.
And we can’t make it happen without you.
Restoring an eyesore
Cindy’s house in Mexia was once a haven for artists, gardeners, and locals alike. Musicians who recorded her songs were known to show up unexpectedly aboard a tour bus or private car for a visit with Cindy in her hometown.
But years of neglect have left the house on Brooks St. in a state of extreme disrepair. The overgrown landscaping, tangles of vines and branches, and rusting outdoor elements must be addressed in order to return this neighborhood landmark to its previous state.
Structural concerns
Efforts to restore the Cindy Walker House will require significant capital investment from our Foundation members, donors, and interested partners. From a compromised foundation to roof issues, damaged interiors, and an overall air of dilapidation, the process of restoring Cindy’s house will take years - and, likely, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Artifacts in abundance
Unlike many historic homes, the Cindy Walker House is filled with furniture, personal effects, and artifacts that belonged to Cindy and her mother, Oree. That means we can interpret the house to a high degree of fidelity related to how Cindy designed, cared for, and lived in the home, a situation that does not often occur in the world of restoring historic properties.
The Cindy Walker House was added to Preservation Texas’ 2022 list of Most Endangered Places and was designated one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2024. But with your help, we can turn a vacant eyesore into the shining showcase for Cindy’s legacy, her talent, and her hometown pride that it deserves to be.
Photos from our first Cindy Walker House cleanup day!
This is the plaque from Cindy's 1998 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, found under her mattress. Cindy did not keep her many awards displayed. She often put them under her bed.
Mexia Mayor Geary Smith & CWF Executive Director Lindsay Liepman at our first work day, which removed 1.65 TONS of trash from the property!
Volunteer & Friend of Cindy Walker Bubba Garber assists with the cleanup day
Example of sheet music discovered in Cindy's papers stored at the house
Volunteers spent hours cleaning out materials from Cindy's house and finding treasures like previously unknown recordings on cassette tapes
Large items were hauled away to make room for future renovations