Bridges House
Roganville, Jasper County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built 1838-40 by a settler from North Carolina, Ruffin C. Turner. Lumber throughout was pit-sawn, hand-planed. Frontier design, with hall enclosed. Original glass in fanlight and entry panels. Largest red cedar tree in U. S. stands in the yard. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ruffin C. Turner, a settler from North Carolina, built this house between 1838 and 1840, in the days of the Republic of Texas. Its lumber was pit-sawn and hand-planed, its plan a frontier design with an enclosed hall, and the original glass still glows in the fanlight and entry panels. The yard is famous in its own right, holding what has been recognized as the largest red cedar tree in the United States.
Why it matters
Surviving from the Republic era, the house is a rare witness to how the earliest Anglo settlers built and lived on the East Texas frontier before statehood.
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Related people
- · Ruffin C. Turner
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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