Inlow and Jeanette Mathews House
San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Inlow Mathews (d. 1879) and wife Jeanette (Hoffman) (d. 1897) brought their family and slaves to San Augustine County from Alabama in 1849. Inlow was a prosperous planter, and he served several terms as county commissioner. The Mathewses built this home sometime before the Civil War, and it has remained in family ownership. The vernacular frame house reflects influences of the Greek Revival style in its symmetrical form, central gabled porch, squared posts and double-door entryway flanked by a transom and sidelights. A rear addition represents a later period of construction. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Inlow and Jeanette Mathews came from Alabama to San Augustine County in 1849, bringing their family and enslaved workers to establish a prosperous plantation. A leading planter, Inlow also served as county commissioner, and the family built this frame house before the Civil War in a vernacular style touched by Greek Revival—its symmetrical form, gabled central porch, and transom-and-sidelight entry. The home has stayed in the family ever since.
Why it matters
The house is a tangible record of the antebellum plantation economy of East Texas, an economy built on the labor of enslaved people whose presence the inscription itself records.
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Related people
- · Inlow Mathews
- · Jeanette Hoffman Mathews
Themes & tags
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