The Figures House
Jefferson, Marion County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A typical East Texas Greek revival cottage, built in 1850s by Bartholomew Figures, who had been a local innkeeper. His son, James C. Figures, was later one of the many short-term owners. Mrs. Mary Eglentine Whitfield (1852-1941), a dressmaker, owned and occupied the structure, 1883-1928. Members of J. H. Benefield's family were owner-landlords, 1936-70. In 1970, it was sold to Mrs. Tommie Wurtsbaugh Glick, an artist, who has restored it. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This modest Greek Revival cottage went up in the 1850s for Bartholomew Figures, a local innkeeper, and passed through a long line of short-term owners over more than a century. Among them was dressmaker Mary Eglentine Whitfield, who lived here from 1883 to 1928, and finally artist Tommie Wurtsbaugh Glick, who restored the house after buying it in 1970. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1973.
Why it matters
Vernacular cottages like this preserve the everyday texture of a 19th-century Texas river town and the working lives—innkeepers, seamstresses, artists—that filled it.
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Related people
- · Bartholomew Figures
- · Mary Eglentine Whitfield
- · Tommie Wurtsbaugh Glick
Themes & tags
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