Bourland-Stevens-Samuell House
Greenville, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1883 by Virginia B. Stevens, daughter of Col. James Bourland, on land deeded him by M. H. Wright, joining site Wright donated for Greenville. Bourland gave land to daughter in 1854. Part of her earlier house was incorporated into this southern colonial structure. Mrs. Stevens gave home to daughter, Berta V. Samuell, who sold to C. A. Leddy in 1912. Owners have been leading citizens in the town's history. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1969
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1883 by Virginia B. Stevens, daughter of Col. James Bourland, this Southern Colonial home rose on land tied to the very founding of Greenville, incorporating part of an earlier house. It passed down through her daughter before being sold in 1912, its successive owners drawn from the town's leading families. The house stands as a record of the founding generation who shaped Hunt County.
Why it matters
The home links Greenville's prominent early families to the land grants and civic gifts that gave the town its start, preserving the story of its founders in brick and timber.
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Related people
- · Virginia B. Stevens
- · James Bourland
- · Berta V. Samuell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Seven Courthouses of Hunt County
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When Hunt County was organized in 1846, court first convened in the open air under oak trees before a log cabin courthouse rose on the Greenville square in 1847. Over the next eight decades the county cycled through a succession of buildings—frame, then brick—several lost to condemnation or the fire of 1884 that also gutted the surrounding business district. The present courthouse, the seventh, was dedicated in 1929 on the county's 83rd anniversary.
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