Turner Home
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1874, two years after town was established. A fireplace in each room, a stairway of carved walnut. Builder J. C. Turner, Sr., was first East Texan to import jersey cattle. Skilled horseman, thoroughbred owner. Old well and dairy house nearby.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1874, just two years after Longview was founded, this East Texas home reflected the ambitions of a new railroad-era town, with a fireplace in every room and a stairway of carved walnut. Its builder, J.C. Turner Sr., was a skilled horseman and thoroughbred owner who is credited as the first East Texan to import Jersey cattle. The old well and dairy house nearby speak to the working farm life that surrounded the fine house.
Why it matters
The home marks the arrival of improved livestock and settled prosperity in post-Reconstruction East Texas, a quiet chapter in how the rural South rebuilt its agricultural economy.
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Related people
- · J.C. Turner, Sr.
Themes & tags
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