Frank Kell Home
Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Native Texan Frank Kell (1859-1941), in partnership with his brother in law Joseph A. Kemp, became a prominent area businessman and civic leader. His developments in the grain business, banking, real estate, and railroad construction helped make Wichita Falls the economic center of the region. In 1909 he had this classical revival house built for his family. Designed by the firm of Jones and Orlopp, it was owned by descendants of Frank Kell for over 70 years. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980.)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Native Texan Frank Kell (1859–1941) and his brother-in-law Joseph A. Kemp built fortunes in grain, banking, real estate, and railroads that helped turn Wichita Falls into the commercial hub of North Texas. In 1909 Kell commissioned this classical revival house from the firm of Jones and Orlopp, and his descendants kept it in the family for more than seventy years.
Why it matters
The home embodies the boosterism and enterprise of the early-twentieth-century Texas frontier city, where a handful of civic entrepreneurs willed a regional economy into being.
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Related people
- · Frank Kell
- · Joseph A. Kemp
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Kemp, Joseph Alexander
Wichita Falls, TX
Joseph Alexander Kemp, who opened his first store at eighteen, moved to Wichita Falls in 1883 and spent his life building the young town into a commercial city. He helped charter rail lines, platted new neighborhoods, erected banks, hotels, and a library, and — most consequentially — privately financed Lake Wichita in 1901 and later Lakes Kemp and Diversion to give the arid region a dependable water supply.
Kell, Frank
Wichita Falls, TX
Frank Kell came to Wichita Falls in 1896, following his brother-in-law Joseph Kemp, and together the two men steered the region through decades of explosive growth. Beginning with the Wichita Mill and Elevator Company, Kell chartered railroads to reach north Texas wheat, coal, and oil, built downtown warehouses and banks, and sold his milling empire to General Mills in 1928 while serving thirteen years as a Dallas Federal Reserve director.
Wichita Falls Traction Company
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When Frank Kell and J. A. Kemp founded the Wichita Falls Traction Company in 1909, they were as much land developers as transit operators. After buying up undeveloped land toward Lake Wichita, they built an electric streetcar line to it — instantly turning the remote outskirts into a convenient place to live and driving up the value of their own property. The city grew rapidly along the route until buses replaced the streetcars in 1933.
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