Harper House
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Constructed in 1905 from mail-order house plans designed by Tennessee architect George Barber, this residence in the Westmoreland Historic District was first occupied by Benjamin and Bertie Harper and their two children. Ben Harper owned Union Iron Works, Inc., and was vice-president of the Harris County Bank and Trust Company. Exhibiting characteristics of a late Queen Anne design with its wrapped porch, decorative gable, projecting bays and Doric columns, the Harper House fits Barber's design No. 234, labeled "Suburban Beauty" in an 1899 issue of American Homes. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1905, a rising Houston industrialist named Benjamin Harper built this home in the new Westmoreland district using mail-order plans from George Barber, one of the era's most popular architects of pattern-book houses. Its late Queen Anne dress — wraparound porch, decorative gable, Doric columns — matched Barber's published design 'Suburban Beauty,' a reminder of how middle- and upper-class Americans could order architectural fashion straight from a magazine. Harper himself embodied Houston's early-twentieth-century growth, running Union Iron Works and helping lead a local bank.
Why it matters
The Harper House shows how mail-order architecture democratized high style across a fast-industrializing America, letting a single design bloom in cities and small towns alike.
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Related people
- · Benjamin Harper
- · Bertie Harper
- · George Barber
Themes & tags
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