George W. Bush Childhood Home
Midland, Midland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
George Herbert Walker Bush and wife Barbara (Pierce) came to Texas in 1948, moving to Midland with son George Walker Bush in 1950. They bought this home in 1951 and while here faced the loss of daughter Robin and celebrated the birth of two sons. The years spent here were vital for young George, who attended Sam Houston Elementary, made lifelong friends and played baseball. The family moved to a larger home in 1955 and then to Houston. This c. 1939 Traditional style house reflects transition from Tudor to Ranch detailing. Unique in history, it was home to two Presidents -- George H.W. and George W. Bush; two Governors -- George W. Bush (TX) and Jeb Bush (FL); and First Lady Barbara Bush. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George H. W. and Barbara Bush came to Texas in 1948 and settled in Midland, buying this modest c.1939 house in 1951. Here young George W. Bush attended Sam Houston Elementary and played baseball, the family mourned the death of daughter Robin, and two more sons were born before the Bushes moved to a larger home in 1955. The house is uniquely tied to two U.S. presidents, two governors and a first lady.
Why it matters
Few American houses can claim so dense a political legacy, linking the everyday Midland childhood of a future president to one of the nation's most prominent political families.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
After the Second World War, West Texas was booming on oil, and Midland sat at the center of it. Young, ambitious families streamed into the flat, sunbaked plains of the Permian Basin, chasing opportunity in the petroleum industry and building new lives far from where they'd started.
This was postwar America at its most restless and hopeful — a time of growing suburbs, growing families, and a widespread faith that hard work in a new place could build a better future. Midland's modest neighborhoods filled with exactly that kind of striving household.
It was into this world that a young couple from the East Coast arrived, part of the great postwar migration that reshaped the American West one family at a time.
People & events
George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, Barbara, came to Texas in 1948 and settled in Midland in 1950 with their young son, George Walker Bush. In 1951 they bought this modest house, a c.1939 dwelling whose design caught the transition from Tudor to Ranch styling then sweeping American homebuilding.
The years spent here held the full weight of ordinary family life — joy and grief together. While living in this house the family celebrated the birth of two more sons, and here they also endured the heartbreaking loss of their young daughter, Robin.
For young George, these were formative years: he attended Sam Houston Elementary, played baseball, and made friends who would last a lifetime. In 1955 the growing family moved to a larger home, and later on to Houston, but the small Midland house had already done its quiet work of shaping a childhood.
Its place in the American story
Few houses anywhere in America can claim the political legacy that this one holds. As the marker notes, it was home to two Presidents of the United States — George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush — as well as two governors, George W. Bush of Texas and Jeb Bush of Florida, and First Lady Barbara Bush.
What makes the place so striking is the contrast between that towering legacy and the ordinariness of the setting. This was not a mansion but a modest family home on a Midland street, where a future president learned to play ball and where a family faced the everyday triumphs and sorrows that any family does.
Recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2004, the house links one of the nation's most prominent political families to the plain, hardworking West Texas town where so much of their story began.
If you visit
Step onto this quiet Midland street and the first thing you'll feel is how down-to-earth it all is. The house is small and unpretentious, and that's the point — it invites you to imagine a president's childhood measured not in grand halls but in a modest yard, a nearby elementary school, and a neighborhood sandlot.
Look at the architecture itself, a c.1939 home that catches the moment American design was shifting from the storybook Tudor toward the low, practical Ranch style that would define postwar suburbs. It's a small lesson in how ordinary families lived in that hopeful era.
A stop here pairs naturally with exploring Midland and the wider Permian Basin, oil country that shaped the family's fortunes and the region's identity. Come with a sense of everyday history, and you'll leave with a vivid picture of how a remarkable American family began in a very unremarkable house.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · George W. Bush
- · George H. W. Bush
- · Barbara Bush
- · Jeb Bush
Themes & tags
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