Fry-Barry House
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built by Fidel Bircher, this raised Greek revival style cottage was designed by W. R. D. Ward, who sold Bircher the property in 1853. Edwin James Fry (1845-1927), a native Virginian who came to Texas in 1855, bought the residence in 1872 and enlarged it to accommodate his growing family. A leading businessman and banker, Fry was a longtime Mason and member of Trinity Episcopal Church. After his death, his daughter Pamela (d. 1961) and her husband, banker W. L. Barry (d. 1942), occupied the home. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This raised Greek Revival cottage was built by Fidel Bircher on land sold to him in 1853 by its designer, W. R. D. Ward. In 1872 Edwin James Fry, a native Virginian who had come to Texas in 1855, bought the residence and enlarged it for his growing family; a leading businessman, banker, and Mason, Fry was active in Trinity Episcopal Church. After his death the home passed to his daughter Pamela and her husband, banker W. L. Barry, and it was named a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962.
Why it matters
Antebellum cottages carried by successive families of merchants and bankers trace the continuity of a East Texas town from its frontier founding through the commercial growth of the New South.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Fidel Bircher
- · W. R. D. Ward
- · Edwin James Fry
- · W. L. Barry
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Joe Weisman and Company
Marshall, TX
Joe Weisman, a Jewish merchant born in Syracuse, New York, in 1847, followed an uncle to Marshall, Texas, in 1866 and drew five siblings after him. In 1878 he founded Joe Weisman and Company, which grew from a mercantile store into a downtown department store and, through the intermarried Hirsch family, stayed in operation for more than a century. Devout members of Temple Moses Montefiore, the Weismans and Hirsches poured support into local churches, charities, and schools including Wiley College and the future East Texas Baptist University.
Elks Building
Marshall, TX
Designed by prominent East Texas architect Cornelius Granville Lancaster, the 1903 Elks Building was conceived as a showpiece of Marshall's downtown shopping district. It served as headquarters for Elks Lodge 683, which had organized in 1901 at Newman Hall, and hosted the lodge's meetings and events until 1953. The building remains a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
The Hub Shoe Store
Marshall, TX
Mose Weisman opened the Hub Shoe Store on Marshall's East Austin Street in 1897, part of a Bavarian-Jewish family that had made its way from Germany to Syracuse and on to East Texas. His nephew Louis Kariel, a World War I veteran, took over in 1924 and became Marshall's first Jewish mayor—a tradition of civic service his son carried on. The store served the town for more than a century before closing in 2001.
The Hockwald House
Marshall, TX
Orphaned young, Isaac 'Ike' Hockwald came to Marshall in 1877 as the ward of merchant Lionel Kahn, joined the family firm, and rose to prosperity. A civic-minded school trustee who helped organize the East Texas Baseball League, he built this Victorian residence in the mid-1890s, later dressed with classical-revival detailing. His family lived here for six decades.