John Starr House
Elkhart, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Home of 1848 settler Starr and wife Susannah (sister of religious leader Daniel Parker, aunt of famed Indian captive Cynthia Ann Parker). Late Greek Revival style. Built 1856, fireplaces are of handcut native sandstone. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1968
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This late Greek Revival home was built in 1856 by John Starr, an 1848 settler, and his wife Susannah — sister of religious leader Daniel Parker and aunt of Cynthia Ann Parker, the girl famously taken captive by Comanches who became mother to the last Comanche chief, Quanah Parker. Its fireplaces were laid from hand-cut native sandstone, and it survives as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The house links one East Texas family to one of the frontier's most storied sagas.
Why it matters
Through the Parker family, this modest home connects to the Cynthia Ann Parker story — one of the defining narratives of conflict and contact between settlers and the Comanche on the Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · John Starr
- · Susannah Parker Starr
- · Cynthia Ann Parker
- · Daniel Parker
Themes & tags
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