Leshikar House
Smithville, Bastrop County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This historic house was built for B.T. Smith in 1900 by Virgil Sullivan Rabb Jr. (1870-1943), one of the premier builders in the area. The home was designed in the Folk Victorian architectural style which features decorative detailing on the structure's eaves, brackets and crowns. Born in Austin County to Czech immigrants, Joseph Charles "JC” Leshikar (1870-1938) married Frantiska "Fannie” Langer (1874-1962) in 1893. Leshikar purchased his first business, the Place Saloon, in Smithville in 1894 when he was 24 years old. He expanded his business here to include land, oil and gas, and became director of the First State Bank of Smithville. The Leshikars raised their family in this home from 1903 to 1976 and are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2018
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Folk Victorian home was built in 1900 by premier local builder Virgil Sullivan Rabb Jr. Its longtime owner, Joseph Charles 'JC' Leshikar, was the son of Czech immigrants who bought his first Smithville saloon at 24, then expanded into land, oil and gas, and banking, raising his family here from 1903 to 1976.
Why it matters
The house captures the arc of a first-generation Czech-American immigrant family rising into small-town business leadership at the turn of the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Joseph Charles Leshikar
- · Frantiska Langer Leshikar
- · Virgil Sullivan Rabb Jr.
Themes & tags
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