Edward R. Sinks House
Giddings, Lee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built around 1890, this American four-square house with offset entry was the home of Edward “Ed” R. Sinks (1854-1936), son of George Washington Sinks (1812-1892) and Julia Lee Sinks (1817-1904). George and Julia, both friends of Sam Houston, were prominent pioneers. George was first chief clerk of the Republic of Texas Postal System and Julia was an avid amateur historian. She was a charter member, vice president and more of the Texas State Historical Association. They lived here during their elder years with Ed, an attorney and founding director of the first bank in Lee County. Ed was Lee County’s first state district judge from 1893 to 1916 and later became state representative for Lee, Milam and Burleson Counties from 1925 to 1929. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2017
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built around 1890, this American four-square house was home to attorney Edward R. Sinks, Lee County's first state district judge and a founding director of its first bank. His parents, George and Julia Sinks—both friends of Sam Houston—lived out their later years here. George had served as first chief clerk of the Republic of Texas Postal System, while Julia Lee Sinks was a pioneering amateur historian and charter member of the Texas State Historical Association.
Why it matters
The home links three chapters of Texas history—Republic-era public service, the early work of preserving that history, and the professional class that built county institutions—under one roof.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Edward R. Sinks
- · George Washington Sinks
- · Julia Lee Sinks
- · Sam Houston
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Casino Hall
La Grange, TX
Built in 1880 by the Casino Association of La Grange, this handsome Italianate hall was—despite its name—a house for social and public life, not gambling, its yellow-ochre brick trimmed with iron hood moldings and a stepped cornice. It hosted music, theater, and community gatherings, and doubled as a free school; among its 1886 graduates was Annie Webb Blanton, who in 1918 became the first woman elected to Texas statewide office. Over the years it served as city hall, fire headquarters, and senior center before being restored to its original spirit of gemütlichkeit.
Milton Garrett York, Sr.
Giddings, TX
Milton Garrett York, born in East Texas in 1843 and orphaned young, returned from Arkansas to teach school and, after Confederate service through the Civil War, put down roots along the Brenham-Austin Trace. He helped organize newly created Lee County in 1874, served as county commissioner, and won election to the Texas House of Representatives in 1890. A Mason and champion of local schooling, he embodied the civic builders who knit frontier counties into functioning communities.
Helen Knox
Giddings, TX
Born in Giddings in 1885, the daughter of a bank president, Helen Knox was among the few women to earn an athletic letter, in tennis, at the University of Texas. By 1927 she was managing women's accounts at Chase National Bank in New York and had become a recognized writer on banking. She led the National Association of Bank Women as president in the mid-1940s and chaired the finance drive to restore Robert E. Lee's home.
Robert Devlin McClellan _ Sarah Lewis Rainey McClellan
Giddings, TX
Robert and Sarah McClellan opened Giddings' first private school in 1874 and, when the town organized its public free schools in 1883, they led the very first faculty. Robert, remembered as a gifted mathematician, taught until his death, while Sarah stayed at her post more than a decade longer. Together they set the standards that shaped local education for generations.