Sartain Homestead
Arp, Smith County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Grayson Sartain (1834-1905) and his wife Eliza Elvira (Gaut) (1837-1918) bought land here in 1868 and began construction of this frame home using timber from their property. Later, neighbors helped place the house on a sled and used oxen and mules to drag it 1/4 mile to this location. In 1913 Sartain's son Lee and his wife Cora (Wilson) bought the farm and the family moved into a tent in the front yard while a second story was being constructed. Lee Sartain served as an Arp banker and continued to raise cotton and peaches on this farm, owned by the family for over a century.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Grayson Sartain and his wife Eliza bought this East Texas land in 1868 and built a frame house from timber cut on their own property—later dragging the whole structure a quarter-mile on a sled pulled by oxen and mules. In 1913 their son Lee and his wife Cora took over the farm, camping in a tent in the yard while a second story was added, and continued raising cotton and peaches on land the family held for more than a century.
Why it matters
The homestead embodies the self-reliant farm life that settled East Texas, where families built, moved, and expanded their own homes by hand across generations.
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Related people
- · John Grayson Sartain
- · Eliza Elvira (Gaut) Sartain
- · Lee Sartain
- · Cora (Wilson) Sartain
Themes & tags
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