Cox House
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Farmers Howard (1837 - 1916) and Mary Jane (Webb) Cox (1843 - 1913) bought 189 acres here in 1878. They built a house at this site prior to 1884 that Cox family tradition claims was partially incorporated into this home built by the Coxes about 1900. Exhibiting Queen Anne style influences, it is an unusual blend of vertically emphasized windows and dormers with a dominant hipped roof. Two of the Coxes' sons operated the Cox Brothers Dairy here from 1931 to about 1951. RTHL 1994
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Farmers Howard and Mary Jane Cox bought 189 acres of this Dallas-area land in 1878 and put up a first house here before 1884. Around 1900 they built the surviving home — family tradition holds the older structure was folded into it — a Queen Anne blend of tall windows and dormers under a dominant hipped roof. Two of their sons ran the Cox Brothers Dairy on the property from 1931 into the early 1950s.
Why it matters
The homestead traces one family's arc from post-Reconstruction farming to a working dairy, a small window on how rural Texas households built and passed down their land.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In 1878, when Howard and Mary Jane Cox bought their land here, North Texas was still mostly farm country. Dallas was growing, especially as railroads arrived in the 1870s, but the land around it was dotted with family farms rather than city streets.
This was the period after the Civil War and Reconstruction, when many Texans were rebuilding their lives and new families were settling onto farmland across the state. Owning land was the foundation of security for a farm family, and 189 acres was a substantial place to work.
By around 1900, when the Coxes built the house that survives today, American homebuilding had embraced a range of lively Victorian styles. The Queen Anne style, with its irregular shapes and decorative touches, was popular across the country, and it showed up in farmhouses as well as town homes.
People & events
Howard Cox was born in 1837 and Mary Jane Webb Cox in 1843. As farmers, they bought 189 acres here in 1878 and set about building a life on the land. Before 1884, they built a first house at this site.
Around 1900, the couple built the home you see here. According to Cox family tradition, part of the earlier house was worked into the new one. That kind of reuse was common and practical on farms, though as with many family stories, it has been passed down rather than fully documented.
The farm stayed in the family into the next generation. From 1931 to about 1951, two of the Coxes' sons ran the Cox Brothers Dairy on the property. Howard and Mary Jane had died by then, but the land they bought continued to support their family in a new way.
Its place in the American story
The Cox House tells a story repeated across America: a family buys land, builds a home, and passes the farm down, changing how they use it as times change. It is a small, personal version of the country's rural history.
The move from general farming to dairying reflects a broader shift. As cities grew, the demand for fresh milk close to town rose. Dairies on the edges of growing cities like Dallas helped feed urban families during the early and middle 20th century.
The house itself is also a good example of how national architectural styles spread. The Queen Anne style was fashionable across the United States, and this home shows how a farm family adapted it, blending tall, vertical windows and dormers with a strong hipped roof. Its recognition as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1994 honors both the building and the family story behind it.
If you visit
When you look at the house, notice the combination the marker highlights: tall, upright windows and dormers that draw the eye upward, set under a big hipped roof that dominates the shape of the house. It is an unusual mix, and spotting it is part of the fun.
Try to imagine the setting as it once was, with open farmland and later dairy cows where the modern city now surrounds it. Homes like this are reminders that much of today's urban Texas was farmland within living memory.
This is a quick and rewarding stop for anyone interested in old houses or family history while exploring the Dallas area. Please be respectful if the house is privately owned or occupied, and enjoy it from public spaces.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Howard Cox
- · Mary Jane Cox
Themes & tags
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