Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison House
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Italian-American business leader Charles Ginocchio (1844-98) and wife Roxana settled in Marshall in 1871; built this home, 1886. Architect: C. G. Lancaster, designer of county courthouse. In Ginocchio household was a nephew, George J. Signaigo, whose parents-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Behn Cook, bought place in 1900, had Signaigos live with them until 1912, retained title until 1945. Owners since 1945: Grecian-Americans, Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Pedison, ex-operators of Ginocchio Hotel dining room. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Italian immigrant Charles Ginocchio, a rising Marshall businessman, settled in the East Texas town with his wife Roxana in 1871 and built this home in 1886. It was designed by C. G. Lancaster, architect of the county courthouse. Passing through the related Cook and Signaigo families and, from 1945, the Greek-American Pedisons who had run the dining room at Ginocchio's own hotel, the house traces an unbroken line of immigrant entrepreneurs.
Why it matters
The home shows how Italian and Greek immigrants helped build the commercial life of a small Southern railroad town in the decades after the Civil War.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In 1871, when Charles and Roxana Ginocchio settled in Marshall, East Texas was trying to rebuild after the Civil War. Marshall had been one of the most important towns in the Confederate West, and Reconstruction brought hard years of political conflict and economic uncertainty.
The railroad changed the town's prospects. In the 1870s the Texas and Pacific Railway made Marshall a key stop and a center for railroad work. Travelers, freight, and jobs arrived with the trains, and so did merchants, hotel keepers, and tradespeople who saw a chance to build something.
By 1886, when this house went up, the boom years of the Gilded Age had reached even small Southern railroad towns. A well-built home designed by a known architect showed that its owners had arrived. It also showed that the town expected to keep growing.
People & events
Charles Ginocchio, born in 1844, was an Italian-American who became one of Marshall's business leaders. He and his wife, Roxana, came to town in 1871. Fifteen years later they could afford a substantial house. To design it they hired C. G. Lancaster, the architect of the county courthouse. That choice says a lot about Ginocchio's standing in the community.
The Ginocchio household also took in a nephew, George J. Signaigo. Family ties shaped the house's next chapter. Signaigo's in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Behn Cook, bought the property in 1900, two years after Charles Ginocchio died. The Signaigos lived there with the Cooks until 1912, and the Cook family kept the title until 1945.
Then the story came back around. The next owners were Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Pedison, Greek-Americans who had once run the dining room of the Ginocchio Hotel. The couple who had fed travelers at the Ginocchio name's hotel ended up living in the Ginocchio family's home. In 1973 the house was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark.
Its place in the American story
Most people picture Italian and Greek immigration through big cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston. This house is a reminder that immigrants also built businesses and lives in small Southern towns, often in places the railroad had just opened up.
The Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison story also shows how immigrant success tended to work: through family networks, a nephew taken in, in-laws stepping up, and work that led to more work. A dining-room job in a hotel could become the first step toward owning a historic home.
Across three owners and nearly a century, the house follows one small town's version of a national pattern. Newcomers arrived, put down roots, and became part of the community's business and civic life.
If you visit
This is a historic home, so treat it as one. Admire it from the street and respect the privacy of anyone living there. Look for the details of a well-made 1880s house, the kind of work a courthouse architect would bring to a private commission.
The Ginocchio name is still well known in Marshall, especially near the old railroad district, where the Ginocchio Hotel stands. Seeing the hotel and the house on the same trip helps the story come together: the place where the Pedisons worked and the home they later owned.
Marshall works well as a stop on an East Texas road trip. It has a historic downtown, a strong railroad heritage, and many markers within a short drive. Give yourself time to walk around. The town rewards slow exploring.
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
- · Charles Ginocchio
- · Roxana Ginocchio
- · C. G. Lancaster
Themes & tags
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