HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Joiner-Long House

Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Joiner-Long House John B. Joiner bought land here from P.C. Chambers and built a one-story farmhouse in 1895. Insurance and real estate salesman Joiner sold the house in 1912 to the long family. Joseph Benjamin Long (1876-1939) moved to Cleburne in 1907 and worked as a banker. He wed Lorena Brown in 1909, and they added the house's second story. Long was active in the community and the Main Street Methodist Church. Lorena served as librarian under the Women's Army Corps (WAC) while her two sons were overseas during World War II. The Long's daughter and her family lived in the house until selling it in 1997. The home's Transitional style is seen in the first floor's Classical columns and the second floor's Queen Anne details, including turned columns and a pronounced belvedere. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

John B. Joiner built a one-story farmhouse on this Cleburne land in 1895 and sold it in 1912 to the Long family. Banker Joseph Benjamin Long and his wife Lorena added the second story, and the couple raised their family here amid civic and church life. During World War II, with her two sons serving overseas, Lorena worked as a librarian with the Women's Army Corps — a chapter reflected in the home, which the family kept until 1997 and which blends Classical columns with Queen Anne details beneath a pronounced belvedere.

Why it matters

The house carries the imprint of the American home front, where families like the Longs sent their sons abroad and their women into wartime service.

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Related people

  • · Joseph Benjamin Long
  • · Lorena Brown Long
  • · John B. Joiner

Related events

  • · World War II

Themes & tags

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