Pritchett House
Huntsville, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Missouri native Joseph Lucien Pritchett (1858-1936) and his wife, Lenora Melissa (Evans), moved to Huntsville in 1888, when he was appointed to the faculty of Sam Houston Normal Institute as a professor of mathematics. After acquiring some property in the area, they built this house in 1892 and named it "Oak Grove." Folk Victorian in form, the house features Queen Anne spindlework in the porch brackets and along the eaves of the front gable dormer. The Pritchetts expanded the house as their family grew, ultimately to include six children. "Oak Grove" remained in the Pritchett family until 1945. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When mathematics professor Joseph Lucien Pritchett joined the young Sam Houston Normal Institute in 1888, he and his wife Lenora soon built "Oak Grove," a Folk Victorian home dressed in Queen Anne spindlework. As their family grew to six children, the house grew with them, staying in Pritchett hands until 1945. It survives as a graceful record of a professor's household in a growing college town.
Why it matters
The home reflects the rise of teacher-training institutions that professionalized public education across the post-Reconstruction South.
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Related people
- · Joseph Lucien Pritchett
- · Lenora Melissa Evans Pritchett
Themes & tags
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