HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Old Blasingame Home

Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Built about 1912 in Ochiltree. Designed by Mrs. John Blasingame; 19th century English, German influence. Constructed by Sam Whittaker; lumber and red brick hauled from Glazier. Luxurious home had attic, full basement. Heavy embossed picture moulding. Contained much intricate glass work - two leaded stained glass windows, of Bavarian design, on sides of living room mantels. Was moved to Perryton, 1961, by the Willard McLarty family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Built around 1912 in the Panhandle town of Ochiltree, this home was designed by Mrs. John Blasingame in a nineteenth-century English and German idiom and constructed by Sam Whittaker from lumber and red brick hauled in from Glazier. It boasted an attic and full basement, heavy embossed moldings, and leaded stained-glass windows of Bavarian design flanking the living-room mantels. In 1961 the McLarty family moved the entire house to Perryton.

Why it matters

The elaborate house shows the ambitions of Panhandle settlers who brought refined taste and craftsmanship to a raw frontier, and its later relocation reflects how whole towns shifted with the railroads and highways.

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Related people

  • · Mrs. John Blasingame
  • · Sam Whittaker

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryHome

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Ochiltree County

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Ochiltree County, in the Texas Panhandle, was carved from Young and Bexar territories, created in 1876 and formally organized in 1889. It honors William Beck Ochiltree (1811–1867), a Texas Supreme Court justice, treasury secretary, and the last attorney general of the Republic of Texas who later served in the legislature, backed secession in 1861, and became a Confederate colonel. The county seat moved from Ochiltree to Perryton in 1920.

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