Porter House
Caldwell, Burleson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Robert U. Porter (1825-1899) came to Texas with his parents in 1833. He took over the family landholdings and farm operations upon his father's death. The area around this site became known as Porter's Prairie. Robert Porter and his first wife, Sallie Choate, had 7 children here, and he and his second wife, Araminta Roberson, had 9 children. The imposing vernacular farmhouse's double porch echoes the Kentucky mansions of Robert Porter's childhood in its early Greek Revival influences. Characteristic elements of the house, such as hand-hewn oak floor joists and sills, were brought from Washington County, where family tradition says Porter chose the lumber himself. The farmstead remains intact at the dawn of the 21st century. Nearby are Porter's Chapel and Cemetery. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2000
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Robert U. Porter came to Texas as a boy in 1833, during the Republic-era frontier era of Anglo settlement, and grew the family farm until the surrounding country took the name Porter's Prairie. The imposing double-porched farmhouse he raised here carried the early Greek Revival lines of the Kentucky mansions of his childhood, built with hand-hewn oak joists he is said to have chosen himself. Home to two wives and sixteen children, the intact farmstead—with its nearby chapel and cemetery—still stands as a portrait of a settler family that put down deep roots.
Why it matters
It preserves the story of how a single pioneer family shaped the land and identity of a Texas prairie community across the 19th century.
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Related people
- · Robert U. Porter
- · Sallie Choate
- · Araminta Roberson
Themes & tags
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