Elvira T. Manor Davis House
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Elvira T. Manor Davis (1841-1918) was reared in east Travis County near present-day Manor, Texas. Named for her father, she married Blackstone H. Davis whose family owned quarry, supplied stone for the 1853 Texas Capitol. Elvira widowed and the mother of six, bought this lot in 1896 and the house was built by 1904. The porch columns, balustrade and bay windows represent a transition from Victorian-era to classical revival design. Davis lived here until 1918. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1994
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Elvira Davis grew up in rural east Travis County and married into a family whose quarry helped supply stone for the 1853 Texas Capitol. Widowed and raising six children, she bought this lot in 1896 and had a home built by 1904 whose porch columns, balustrade, and bay windows capture the moment when Victorian taste gave way to classical revival. She lived here until her death in 1918.
Why it matters
The house records the independence of a widowed woman making her own place in turn-of-the-century Austin, and a shift in American domestic architecture caught in a single facade.
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Related people
- · Elvira T. Manor Davis
- · Blackstone H. Davis
Themes & tags
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