The Waldo Mansion
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A Confederate veteran, J. P. Waldo (1839-1896) settled in Houston after the Civil War. He married Mary Virginia Gentry (1849-1922), daughter of railroad promoter Abram Gentry. Waldo soon became a prosperous railroad executive. In 1885 he built this house at the corner of Rusk and Caroline (2 mi. N). A Mansard roof and tower originally topped the mansion. Elegant millwork adorns the interior. In 1905 Waldo's son Wilmer (1876-1962) moved the house to this site, then a fashionable area on the edge of town. He rebuilt it without most of its Victorian detailing. The Waldo family lived here until 1966.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Confederate veteran J. P. Waldo settled in Houston after the Civil War, married into the family of railroad promoter Abram Gentry, and rose to become a prosperous railroad executive. In 1885 he built an elaborate Victorian mansion topped with a Mansard roof and tower at Rusk and Caroline; in 1905 his son Wilmer moved the house to this then-fashionable district, rebuilding it with much of its ornament stripped away. The Waldo family lived here until 1966.
Why it matters
The mansion embodies the postwar rise of the railroad executives who powered Houston's growth into a major city.
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Related people
- · J. P. Waldo
- · Wilmer Waldo
Themes & tags
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