Lusk House
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This house was built in 1866 by Capt. R.W. Lusk. In 1885, his widow, Margaret Henry Lusk, married her brother-in-law, Dr. W. R. Clifton, a pioneer Waco businessman, who lived here until 1925, when the property was purchased by the Franciscan Fathers for a monastery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the years just after the Civil War, Waco was growing from a Brazos River crossing into a bustling Central Texas town. This home, raised in 1866 by a Confederate captain, later passed to his widow and her second husband, a pioneering Waco physician and businessman who lived here into the 1920s. The Franciscan Fathers then acquired the property for use as a monastery.
Why it matters
Homes like this trace how a young frontier settlement matured into an established community, its private residences eventually giving way to institutions that served the wider public.
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Related people
- · R.W. Lusk
- · Margaret Henry Lusk
- · W. R. Clifton
Themes & tags
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