Potton House
Big Spring, Howard County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Joseph Potton (1847-1920), a native of England and master mechanic for Texas & Pacific Railroad, built this Victorian residence in 1901. Designed by the Fort Worth firm of S. B. Haggart and Son, the house was constructed of Pecos sandstone with iron pillars and zinc gable decorations. Potton, a school board trustee, and his wife occupied the home after he retired in 1912 and often entertained here. Later their daughter, Mrs. Henry R. Hayden, and her family resided here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph Potton, an English-born master mechanic for the Texas & Pacific Railroad, built this Victorian home in Big Spring in 1901, using local Pecos sandstone, iron pillars, and zinc gable decorations from a Fort Worth architectural firm. A school board trustee, Potton retired in 1912 and lived here with his wife, often entertaining guests, before the house passed to their daughter's family. It survives as a well-preserved emblem of the prosperity the railroad brought to West Texas.
Why it matters
The Potton House ties the rise of a West Texas railroad town to the skilled immigrant workers who kept the trains running, showing how the railroad shaped the settlement of the arid West.
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Related people
- · Joseph Potton
Themes & tags
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