Rembert-Harrison House
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Frank Taylor Rembert (1853-1926) was born in Copiah County, Mississippi. In 1872 he came to Texas, where he had relatives and a job with the Houston & Great Northern Railroad in Crockett. While working in Scottsville, he met Kate Womack, and the two married in 1878. The couple moved to Longview, where they bought a cottage already on this site. Frank became a prominent merchant and investor, operating the firm of Mayfield, Rembert, and company (later F. T. Rembert Mercantile Company) with his brothers-in-law and owning a Cotton Oil Mill, bank, and several commercial buildings. He was mayor of Longview from 1896 to 1898. Since Frank’s death in 1926, the Remberts’ nephew, John Womack Harrison, and his family have continued to live in the house. The original Queen Anne-Style cottage was built between 1877 and 1879. In about 1895, inspired by his 1893 trip to the world’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Frank Rembert remodeled the exterior, removing elaborate spindle work and adding ionic columns and other classical revival elements. The wood frame house with original siding and double-hung wood sash windows features an asymmetrical façade dominated by a wraparound front porch. Historic interior elements include two red brick chimneys, original fireplaces, bulls-eye trim and other woodwork details. In about 1912, a detached garage and concrete driveway were added to the property. These accommodated the Buick which Rembert purchased between 1910 and 1912, believed to be one of the first automobiles in Longview. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Frank Taylor Rembert came to Texas from Mississippi in 1872, working for the railroad before marrying Kate Womack and settling in Longview. He became a leading merchant and investor—running a mercantile firm, a cotton oil mill, and a bank—and served as mayor from 1896 to 1898. Around 1895, inspired by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, he remodeled the couple's 1870s cottage with Classical Revival columns, and around 1912 added a garage for one of Longview's first automobiles.
Why it matters
The house captures the rise of a Gilded Age merchant class and the material changes—from world's-fair fashion to the automobile—that transformed small Texas cities.
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Related people
- · Frank Taylor Rembert
- · Kate Womack Rembert
- · John Womack Harrison
Themes & tags
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