W. T. Carter, Sr. House
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Designed by Houston architect Birdsall Briscoe for William T. Carter, Sr. And his wife, Maude, this house was built in 1920. The Carters moved from a mansion on Main Street to be closer to three of their grown children, who lived in 16, 18 and 20 Courtlandt Place, forming a continuous row of family houses. Carter was an influential Houston businessman with a large timber operation based in Camden, Texas. The house’s Georgian revival style incorporates Tudor and Classical Revival elements, including the gabled dormers, the slate roof and the flemish bond pattern in the brick veneer.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1920 to designs by noted Houston architect Birdsall Briscoe, this Georgian Revival house drew timber magnate William T. Carter, Sr. and his wife Maude from their Main Street mansion to Courtlandt Place, where three of their grown children already lived in an unbroken row of family homes. Carter's fortune came from a large East Texas timber operation centered on Camden. The design blends Tudor and Classical Revival touches—gabled dormers, a slate roof, and Flemish-bond brickwork.
Why it matters
The house reflects the early-20th-century wealth that Texas timber and industry poured into Houston, and the fashionable enclaves where that new money built its homes.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · William T. Carter, Sr.
- · Birdsall Briscoe
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Edwin and Daphne Neville House
Houston, TX
This two-and-a-half-story brick Tudor Revival residence was designed in 1914 by Houston architect Birdsall P. Briscoe, and it still keeps its original floor plan, half-timbered gables, steep hipped roof, and one-story brick loggias. It was home to Edwin L. Neville, a partner at Dorrance & Company, and his wife Daphne Palmer, both active in Houston civic life through the Community Chest, the Junior League, and area hospitals and chapels. The house stayed in the Neville family until 1949.
W. T. Carter, Jr., House
Houston, TX
This 1912 Prairie-style home, designed by noted architects Birdsall Briscoe and Olle Lorehn, was built for lumber and real-estate magnate W. T. Carter, Jr., and his wife Lillie. Carter served on the Houston City Council and Port Commission and developed the city's first public airport, later William P. Hobby Airport; the family kept the house until 1978.
F.C.L. and Emilie Neuhaus House
Houston, TX
Houston businessman Franz Carl Ludwig Neuhaus and his wife Emilie commissioned the noted firm Sanguinet and Staats to design this Colonial Revival house in 1909, completing it the following year. Classical touches — a Doric-entablature portico, arched sidelights, and a porte cochere — mark it as fine early-twentieth-century craftsmanship. It was the first home built on Courtlandt Place, one of Houston's early planned residential enclaves, and stayed in the family until 1945.
James L. Autry House
Houston, TX
James L. Autry came to Corsicana in 1876 and studied law just as Texas's first oil discoveries were transforming the state's economy. As chief counsel for the Texas Company—later Texaco—he helped invent the new field of petroleum law. In 1912 he commissioned the noted firm Sanguinet and Staats to build this Neoclassical home, distinguished by its double galleries, fluted Doric columns, and tile roof.