Messer-Limmer Farmhouse
Temple, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This vernacular farmhouse was built in 1895 for Mary Margaret Messer (d. 1919) by her sons and grandsons. It was purchased in 1920 by F. A. Limmer, local landowner and citizen of the nearby community of Alligator. Features of the Cumberland plan house include board-and-batten siding and shed roof. The home and outbuildings are rare surviving examples of the type of farm complexes once found throughout Bell County. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1989
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1895 by the sons and grandsons of Mary Margaret Messer, this modest farmhouse is a plainspoken example of vernacular Texas building — a Cumberland-plan house with board-and-batten siding raised by family labor rather than a hired architect. Purchased in 1920 by landowner F. A. Limmer of the nearby community of Alligator, the home and its outbuildings survive as a rare intact picture of the working farm complexes that once dotted Bell County.
Why it matters
Everyday farmhouses like this one, built by the families who lived in them, preserve the ordinary architecture of rural life that grander landmarks overlook.
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Related people
- · Mary Margaret Messer
- · F. A. Limmer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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