Kennedy-Peterson House
Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This home was built in 1914 for seven-term Texas State Representative and Speaker of the House Austin Milton Kennedy (1866-1914), who moved here to assist with his struggles with tuberculosis. Kennedy lived here only three months and died on July 19, 1914. Rancher and businessman Sid Peterson (1868-1939) and his wife, Myrta (Goss) Peterson (1881-1951), purchased the house in 1919. Well-known in the Hill Country, the Peterson family established a charitable foundation in 1944 to help local students and those in need and the Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital in 1949. Built in Victorian Free Classic style, the house features a large wrap-around porch, gabled roof, original columns, original beveled glass door and pine wood drop siding. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2017
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1914 for seven-term legislator and Texas House Speaker Austin Milton Kennedy, this Victorian Free Classic house sheltered him only three months before tuberculosis claimed his life. In 1919 rancher and businessman Sid Peterson and his wife Myrta bought the home; the Petersons later endowed a charitable foundation for local students and, in 1949, the Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital. With its wrap-around porch and original beveled glass and columns, the house remains a Hill Country landmark.
Why it matters
The home links two threads of Texas Hill Country history—state political leadership and the ranching-family philanthropy that built local schools and hospitals.
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Related people
- · Austin Milton Kennedy
- · Sid Peterson
- · Myrta Goss Peterson
Themes & tags
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