HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded AgeProgressive & Modern Era

Atkinson-Morris House

Paris, Lamar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Built about 1890 by Jethro D. Atkinson, bank director and owner of Paris' first shoe store. Bought 1910 by social leaders, Dr. Eugene Felder Morris and wife Elizabeth. A fine example of Victorian style prevailing here before the great 1916 Paris fire. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Built about 1890 by Jethro D. Atkinson — a bank director and owner of Paris's first shoe store — this house was purchased in 1910 by social leaders Dr. Eugene Felder Morris and his wife Elizabeth. Its Victorian styling reflects the prosperous look of Paris before the catastrophic 1916 fire that swept much of the city. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1972.

Why it matters

As a survivor of the great 1916 Paris fire, the house is a rare window onto the town's Gilded Age appearance and the merchant families who built it.

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Related people

  • · Jethro D. Atkinson
  • · Dr. Eugene Felder Morris
  • · Elizabeth Morris

Related events

  • · Paris fire of 1916

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

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First National Bank of Paris

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William J. McDonald, a Civil War veteran and lawyer, opened this bank at its present location in 1886, one of several banks he built across northeast Texas through shrewd, patient management—careful in lending yet slow to foreclose. The present building went up in 1916 only to be gutted within months by a citywide fire, then rebuilt within the year, and during the Great Depression the bank's loans kept many local merchants and farmers afloat. McDonald left the bulk of his estate to the University of Texas, funding the McDonald Observatory dedicated in West Texas in 1939.

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