Callaway House
Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Wood County natives Lorenzo Dow Callaway (1869-1918) and Elizabeth Williams (1874-1949) married in 1892 and had five children. Lorenzo joined his father, James Anderson Callaway, in his mercantile business, and had other varied interests including ranching and milling. He also served as a school trustee, city alderman and mayor. Soon after they married, the Callaways built this home. The one-story Queen Anne-style T-plan residence features shingles and detailing in the gables, partial porches, and decorative spindlework and railings. Lorenzo died in 1918 in the flu epidemic. Elizabeth served for many years as manager of lunchroom operations for Mineola schools. The house remained in the Callaway family until 1984.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Wood County natives Lorenzo Dow Callaway and Elizabeth Williams married in 1892 and built this Queen Anne cottage soon after. Lorenzo joined his father's mercantile business and branched into ranching and milling while serving as school trustee, alderman, and mayor, until the 1918 flu pandemic took his life. His widow Elizabeth ran the Mineola school lunchrooms for years, and the house stayed in the family until 1984.
Why it matters
The home reflects the rise of a small-town merchant family whose fortunes — and losses, like the 1918 influenza — mirror those of Gilded Age America.
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Related people
- · Lorenzo Dow Callaway
- · Elizabeth Williams Callaway
Themes & tags
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