Ellwood-Craig House
Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Pompeiian Villa) Built in 1900 as the winter home of Isaac L. Ellwood (1833-1910), principal developer of barbed wire. Architects G. C. Nimmons and W. K. Fellows, of Chicago, designed the house in a classic revival style with a raised Roman Doric portico. The name was derived from a planned, but unrendered, series of courtyard frescoes of Bacchanalian motif, reminiscent of ancient Pompeii. Port Arthur pioneer G. M. Craig lived here from 1903 until 1950. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1900 as a winter home for Isaac L. Ellwood, a principal developer of barbed wire, this classic-revival villa was designed by Chicago architects Nimmons and Fellows with a raised Roman Doric portico. Its nickname, the Pompeiian Villa, came from a planned but never-executed series of Bacchanalian frescoes evoking ancient Pompeii. Port Arthur pioneer G. M. Craig made it his home from 1903 to 1950.
Why it matters
Barbed wire fortunes like Ellwood's were built on the invention that fenced the open range and transformed the American West, and the mansions they funded mark the Gilded Age wealth that flowed from it.
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Related people
- · Isaac L. Ellwood
- · G. M. Craig
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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