Judge J. B. Williamson House
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Ante-bellum plantation. Built in Republic of Texas, on headright surveyed 1838. Squared log cabins (still within walls) and 12-foot hall formed original house. Greek revival crosshall structure is attributed to Augustus Phelps, noted architect of the Republic. By tradition, Sam Houston often stopped here on way to Marshall to pay court to Miss Anna Raguet. 1963-65 restoration by Mr. and Mrs. Dick Hoskins Gregg. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Begun on an 1838 headright in the days of the Republic of Texas, this antebellum plantation house grew from squared-log cabins and a broad central hall into a Greek Revival crosshall home attributed to noted Republic-era architect Augustus Phelps. Tradition holds that Sam Houston stopped here on his way to court Anna Raguet in Marshall. A 1960s restoration earned it recognition as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
Why it matters
The house links the architecture and plantation society of the Texas Republic to the larger-than-life figure of Sam Houston, preserving a rare survivor of the frontier's earliest fine building.
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Related people
- · Sam Houston
- · Augustus Phelps
- · Anna Raguet
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Completed in 1900 at a cost of $62,000, this was the third courthouse to stand on the site, following the log 'Little Virginia' of 1851 and a brick Gothic hall of 1889 that burned in 1899. Built of granite, brick, and marble in a Capitol-inspired classical Roman style, it was crowned with a clock dome, belfry, and a figure of Justice, and since 1964 has housed the Harrison County Museum.
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