Baldwin-Brundrett House
Rockport, Aransas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Aransas County Judge W.H. Baldwin, who promoted Rockport as a deep water port, lived in this house in the 1890s. George A. Brundrett, Jr., was a Confederate veteran and cattle rancher on 15,000 acres on Matagorda Island; his family lived here from 1917-42. Brundrett’s second wife, Flavilla, often turned the parlor into a makeshift hospital, and it is said that 200 people took shelter here during the 1919 hurricane. This one-story house retains its basic design from the 1880s and exemplifies the Queen Anne style adapted to the Texas coast. The house has a front facing gable, hip roof, lace-like corner brackets, and its original windows and doors. The only modification has been the enclosure of the back porch. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This coastal Queen Anne house, dating in its basic form to the 1880s, was home in the 1890s to Aransas County Judge W. H. Baldwin, a booster of Rockport as a deep-water port. From 1917 to 1942 it sheltered George A. Brundrett, Jr., a Confederate veteran and cattle rancher whose spread covered 15,000 acres on Matagorda Island; his wife Flavilla is remembered for turning the parlor into a makeshift hospital, and some 200 people are said to have taken refuge here during the deadly 1919 hurricane. With its front-facing gable, lacy corner brackets, and original windows and doors, the house shows the Queen Anne style adapted to the Gulf coast.
Why it matters
The house links two shapers of the Texas coast—a port promoter and a frontier cattleman—and stood as a refuge in one of the region's worst storms.
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Related people
- · Judge W. H. Baldwin
- · George A. Brundrett, Jr.
Related events
- · Hurricane of 1919
Themes & tags
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