Hancock Building
Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Businessman William F. Lewis and Ellis County Judge M.B. Templeton built this Victorian commercial structure in 1890. Decorative brickwork and cast iron columns highlight the facade. William Pitt Hancock (1872-1955), a well-known defense attorney, purchased the property in 1907 to house his law office. A grocery store, justice of the peace, and real estate and insurance offices have also occupied the Hancock building.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Businessman William F. Lewis and County Judge M.B. Templeton put up this Victorian commercial block in 1890, its facade dressed in decorative brickwork and cast-iron columns typical of a prosperous county-seat business district. In 1907 the well-known defense attorney William Pitt Hancock bought the property for his law office, lending it his name. Grocers, a justice of the peace, and real estate and insurance men have all worked beneath its ornate front.
Why it matters
It survives as a fine example of the Gilded Age commercial architecture that lined the courthouse squares of thriving Texas towns.
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Related people
- · William F. Lewis
- · M.B. Templeton
- · William Pitt Hancock
Themes & tags
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