The Manahan House
Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Greek Revival structure with cistern and chimneys of local handmade brick. Lumber, hardware came by wagon from Galveston. Siding is cypress; interiors of hand-planed heart pine. Unusual smoke spots decorate a ceiling. Started 1855 by Dr. W. D. Strain, who died Feb. 16, 1856. Widow had his funeral held here, completed house and occupied it, later sold to R. M. Edwards. In 1912 it was purchased by Mrs. A. C. Manahan, whose heirs still preserve it. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Greek Revival home in Fairfield was begun in 1855 with cisterns and chimneys of local handmade brick, cypress siding, and interiors of hand-planed heart pine, its lumber and hardware freighted by wagon all the way from Galveston. Dr. W. D. Strain started the house but died in early 1856; his widow held his funeral there, finished the home, and lived in it before selling. Purchased by Mrs. A. C. Manahan in 1912, it has been preserved by her heirs and was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1972.
Why it matters
The house is a fine surviving example of antebellum Greek Revival building on the Texas frontier, where fashionable architecture depended on materials hauled overland by wagon.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Dr. W. D. Strain
- · Mrs. A. C. Manahan
- · R. M. Edwards
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Freestone County
Fairfield, TX
Freestone County was carved from Limestone County in 1850 and organized the following January, taking its name from the freestone rock found in the area. Once known as Mound Prairie, the new county made Fairfield its seat. The marker records the plain civic facts of how a piece of frontier Texas became a governed county.
1881 Freestone County Jail
Fairfield, TX
Built in 1881 as Freestone County's third jail, this sturdy two-story building rose on the footprint of an 1857 predecessor, its brick fired from local clay and partly recycled from the earlier structure. Behind eighteen-inch walls it held two cells and quarters for the jailer, later becoming a family residence and, from 1966, a county museum. A recent restoration returned it to its 1880s appearance.
Potter-Watson Log Cabin
Fairfield, TX
Raised around 1852 by Daniel Potter, a farmer who broke wild horses, this cabin shows the careful craft of frontier building — a cedar floor, split-board roofing joined by wooden pegs, and hewn logs locked tightly together. It passed through the Potter and Watson families for generations, sheltering brides and newborns, until a descendant gave it to a museum in 1967 so its handiwork would endure.
Carter Log House
Fairfield, TX
Built in 1845 as Texas was joining the Union, this log house was raised by David L. Carter, an Alabama emigrant, using tongue-and-groove logs pinned with wood and square-nailed rafters — flooring and ceiling materials hauled seventy miles by ox-wagon. Carter later served in the Confederate Army and helped found Woodland Boys' College. Its careful joinery makes it a fine surviving example of pioneer craftsmanship in early Texas.