Harkey - Payne House
Palmer, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally a four-room house with south and east porches, this home was built about 1870 by carpenter and blacksmith D. H. Harkey. Dr. J. M. Johnson bought the property in 1896 and added the second story and the colonial revival style columns. In 1897 the house was sold to Confederate veteran John Payne, who ran a successful mercantile business in Palmer. Built of cypress, the home remained in the Payne family until 1906.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Carpenter and blacksmith D. H. Harkey built this four-room house around 1870. Dr. J. M. Johnson bought it in 1896 and added the second story and Colonial Revival columns before selling it in 1897 to Confederate veteran John Payne, a successful Palmer merchant. Framed in cypress, the home stayed in the Payne family until 1906.
Why it matters
Its layered additions and changing owners chart the growth of a small Ellis County town from frontier settlement to established Gilded Age community.
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Related people
- · D. H. Harkey
- · Dr. J. M. Johnson
- · John Payne
Themes & tags
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