Callender Home
Victoria, Victoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built by Dr. Stephen Cocke as hunting lodge on Green Lake; of hand-hewn pine lumber bought in New York. In 1854 lodge was torn down, boards numbered; then rebuilt on present site. Since 1871 home of pioneer lawyer William L. Callender and his descendants. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Victoria County house began as a hunting lodge built by Dr. Stephen Cocke on Green Lake, framed of hand-hewn pine lumber shipped from New York. In 1854 the lodge was carefully taken apart, its boards numbered, and rebuilt on the present site. Since 1871 it has been home to pioneer lawyer William L. Callender and his descendants, and was named a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1966.
Why it matters
The house's dismantling and reconstruction preserve a rare glimpse of how coastal Texans built with imported materials and reused precious sawn lumber in the frontier era.
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Related people
- · Stephen Cocke
- · William L. Callender
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
J. Meredith Tatton House
Victoria, TX
English-born conservationist, composer, and cattleman J. Meredith "Jack" Tatton came to Texas in 1930 and married Victoria native Virginia Drake Hallinan, a great-granddaughter of legendary rancher Thomas O'Connor. In 1936 they commissioned noted Houston architect John F. Staub—famed for his refined country houses—to design this colonial revival and Monterey-influenced home. It later passed to the Welder-Murphy family, tying together several of south Texas's great cattle-ranching dynasties.
Fernando De Leon
Victoria, TX
Fernando De Leon was the eldest son of empresario Martín De León, whose family came north from Mexico to help colonize the Texas frontier in the 1820s and founded the town of Victoria. A colony commissioner, rancher, and frontiersman who owned the noted Escondida Ranch, he cast his lot with Texas independence and was imprisoned by Mexican forces during the revolution.
Silvestre De Leon
Victoria, TX
Silvestre De León (1802–1842) was a son of empresario Martín De León, founder of the De León Colony and the city of Victoria. Active in the church and serving as alcalde of Victoria, he was a soldier and Indian fighter who was taken prisoner by the Mexican Army during the Texas War for Independence. He also owned and traded vast herds of horses, mules, and cattle.
Dona Patricia De La Garza De Leon
Victoria, TX
Around 1800, when Texas was still the northernmost reach of Spanish and then Mexican territory, Patricia de la Garza de León crossed from Tamaulipas to join her husband Don Martín de León in his effort to plant a colony on the frontier. Raising ten children, she made her home a hearth of pioneer culture at the founding of Victoria. When the Texas fight for independence came, she stood with the patriot cause.