HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Highlands Mansion

Marlin, Falls County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Built about 1898-1900 by B. C. Clark. Sturdy cypress; stained leaded Glass Dome, windows--Italian imports. Elegant Gay Nineties mansion prominent in early Marlin society and one of the showplaces of Texas at the turn of the century. RTHL - 1967 Incise in Base: Restored 1964-1967 by Mr. and Mrs. Lee E. Loeffler

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Built around 1898-1900 by B. C. Clark, the Highlands Mansion rose in sturdy cypress crowned with a stained leaded-glass dome and windows imported from Italy. An elegant expression of Gay Nineties taste, it stood among the showplaces of turn-of-the-century Texas and figured prominently in early Marlin society. It was carefully restored in the 1960s and named a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1967.

Why it matters

Grand houses like this one mark the confident prosperity of small Texas towns at the height of the Gilded Age.

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Related people

  • ยท B. C. Clark

Themes & tags

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