Sanders House
Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Tennessee-born Robert Washington Sanders (1850-1916), a master wood carver, was drawn to Beaumont in 1878 by the newly-emerging lumber industry. He worked in several local lumber mills until 1902, when he went into business for himself as a cabinet maker. Known throughout the area for his work, he designed the stairs for the Tyrrell Public Library in Beaumont, was a member of the planning committee for the Jefferson County Courthouse, and served as a city alderman for one term. His hand-carved furniture was proudly displayed in several early homes and churches. Sanders and his wife Ida Mae (d. 1942) acquired the land at this site in 1886. Contractor James Wellman built the two-story, Queen Anne style house for them in 1895 according to their specifications, but Sanders did the finishing work himself. Using native woods such as cypress, curly pine and cedar, he carved the ornamental details on the exterior as well as the front door, the interior spiral staircase and much of the furniture inside the house. The Sanders rented part of their home to boarders during the time they lived here. The house stands today as a reminder of a Beaumont pioneer and as a monument to his craftsmanship. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982 Incise on base: Sponsored by Barbara & Alan McNeill
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Tennessee-born master wood carver Robert Washington Sanders came to Beaumont in 1878, drawn by the booming lumber industry, and by 1902 had his own cabinetmaking business. In 1895 contractor James Wellman built him this two-story Queen Anne house, but Sanders finished it himself—carving the exterior ornament, the front door, an interior spiral staircase, and much of the furniture from native cypress, curly pine, and cedar. His craftsmanship also graced Beaumont's Tyrrell Library and Jefferson County Courthouse.
Why it matters
The house stands as a monument to the skilled artisans of the East Texas lumber boom and to the hand craftsmanship that shaped a rising Gilded Age town.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Robert Washington Sanders
- · Ida Mae Sanders
- · James Wellman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Travis Street Substation
Beaumont, TX
When Gulf States Utilities built this Travis Street substation in 1929, it opened a new era of dependable electric power across Beaumont and southeast Texas. Even through the Great Depression the company expanded to 22 more communities, wiring farms, homes, and industry. The substation powered street lights, railway cars, cotton gins, rice irrigation, gravel pits, and the underground pumping that moved oil to the region's refineries.
Young Men's Christian Association of Beaumont
Beaumont, TX
The 1901 Spindletop gusher turned Beaumont into a boomtown flooded with newcomers, vice, and a housing shortage. That November a young man living in a backyard tent and a visiting state YMCA secretary rallied a community meeting, and 35 founding members organized the Beaumont YMCA under president George W. Carroll. By 1903 it opened a building with dormitories, an 800-seat auditorium, bowling alley, and pool, and later leaders raised funds for a modern facility, seated the nation's first Jewish YMCA board member, and—in the segregated era—provided a separate building for Black residents.
Port of Beaumont
Beaumont, TX
From its 1837 founding, Beaumont was served by schooners and sternwheelers on the Neches River, but the shallow three-foot depth of Sabine Lake long capped its ambitions. Dredging at Sabine Pass began in 1876, and after the rival deepwater port at Port Arthur appeared in 1897, Beaumont interests pushed for their own channel—sharing the cost with the federal government to deepen the Neches to 25 feet. The deep-water port and Sabine-Neches waterway officially opened in 1916, growing into a major navigation district.
Texas' First Rice Mill
Beaumont, TX
Along the Gulf prairie of Southeast Texas, early rice growers depended so entirely on rainfall that their crop earned the wry name "Providence Rice." J. E. Broussard changed that: a pioneer grower and irrigator, he founded the Beaumont Rice Mill in 1892 and helped organize the Rice Millers' Association, spurring mills across neighboring counties. The present mill building went up in 1907, and Broussard's descendants have kept the firm running ever since.