Hicks-Lawrence House
Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Edgar and Goldye Hicks bought this property from the Brownsville Land and Investment Co. in 1908. Their house was one of the first built in West Brownsville, the first subdivision outside the original townsite. The Queen Anne style house features a pyramidal roof, cross gables with dormer windows, shiplap siding and a wraparound porch with Doric columns. The Hicks owned a livery stable on East Adams Street, and this country home included a servant's house and a large stable. In 1922 Dr. O.V. and Nancy Lawrence bought the house. Dr. Lawrence was a civic leader, school board and junior college president, and regional pioneer of X-ray technology. The Sept. 1933 hurricane destroyed the property's outbuildings. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built about 1908, this Queen Anne house was among the first in West Brownsville, the town's earliest subdivision beyond the original townsite. Livery-stable owners Edgar and Goldye Hicks raised it as a country home; in 1922 it passed to Dr. O.V. Lawrence, a civic leader, school board and junior college president, and regional pioneer of X-ray technology. The September 1933 hurricane destroyed the property's outbuildings.
Why it matters
The home traces Brownsville's early-twentieth-century growth and the arrival of modern medicine and higher education on the border.
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Related people
- · Edgar Hicks
- · Goldye Hicks
- · O.V. Lawrence
- · Nancy Lawrence
Themes & tags
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