John F. McGehee Home
San Marcos, Hays County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1889 by John Francis McGehee (1838-1922), a veteran of Hood's Brigade in Civil War. The house, constructed of pine hauled from Bastrop, cypress siding, and handmade brick, is of 19th century Eastlake architectural style. Since McGehee sold the property in 1906, it has had several owners. Dr. J. R. Morton, whose wife, Frances M. Morton, was San Marcos' poet laureate, lived here 1920-51. The George N. Martindales have owned the house since 1955. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Francis McGehee, a veteran of Hood's Texas Brigade, built this Eastlake-style house in 1889 from pine hauled up from Bastrop, cypress siding, and handmade brick. After he sold it in 1906 the home passed through several notable owners, including a physician whose wife served as San Marcos' poet laureate. It has stood as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark since 1973.
Why it matters
The house links a Confederate veteran's postwar rebuilding to the genteel civic life of a growing Central Texas town.
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Related people
- · John Francis McGehee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Joseph W. Earnest Home
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Tennessee native Joseph W. Earnest came to Hays County with his family in 1854 and grew up to serve in both the Texas Rangers and the Confederate army before making his mark as a merchant and cattleman. In 1892 he hired local builder Charles Sinz to raise this Victorian home in San Marcos, where his niece Mary Cock was reared and which later passed to her and her husband Irvin Rylander.
George Henry Talmadge Home
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George H. Talmadge (1840–1911), an Illinois farmer and Union Army veteran of the Civil War, moved to San Marcos in 1888 with his wife Lydia and their children, including an adopted daughter orphaned by the Great Chicago Fire. A carpenter by trade, Talmadge built this Victorian house of cypress in 1889. His family lived in the home for 86 years.
George Thomas McGehee House
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George Thomas McGehee arrived in the San Marcos area as a boy in 1846, among its earliest settlers. He rode with Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War, served three terms in the state legislature, and in 1895 crowned his standing by building this turreted Victorian residence with his wife Sarah. Restored in 1949 by the Thompson family, the house survives as a monument to a pioneer-turned-statesman.
O. T. Brown Home
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