Drews Hunt Builders started as the father and son partnership of Martin M. Drews and Gerald W. Drews in July 1973. The seeds were planted when A.O. Drews, a Marlin contractor, taught his sons Martin, Sam and Ben the carpentry trade upon their return from World War II.
By the time Martin and Gerald founded the company called Drews Construction Company, the pair combined over 40 years of construction experience between them. While in high school, Gerald learned the carpentry trade from his dad and worked in the construction field through college. After graduation, he became an estimator for a large commercial contractor in Houston. Two years later Sherry and Gerald moved to Temple to form the company.
The name changed to Drews Custom Homes because that was the focus. The company built mid size homes in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s until present the company focused on upscale luxury custom homes ranging up to 1 million dollars. In 1998 Derrick Hunt moved his family from Redding California to become a partner and add remodeling and expansion capabilities to the company. Thus the name Drews Hunt Builders.
The first office was a home office and the first company truck was a short bed 1957 Chevy. As the business grew, key employees and sub contractors contributed to its success. Many clients, who built houses, became some of our closest friends. Although the company has been blessed with many good people over the years, three key employees, Tommy Millender, Joe Millender, and Roy Schlickeisen are still associated and are approaching 30 year experience.
Drews Construction Company was one of the earlier founding members of the Temple Area Builders Association, participated in over 35 Parade of Homes. In January 1992, BUILDER, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builder recognized Drews Custom Homes in its Builder Spotlight Award as “one of the top 12 best builders in the nation.”
From 1977 to 2005, Drews Custom Homes was located at 1113 South 33rd St. In the year 2006 the company relocated to 1023 Canyon Creek Dr. and changed its name to Drews Hunt Builders.