William G. and Shirley Swenson Home
Abilene, Taylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This two-story brick home was designed by abilene architect William P. Preston for the family of William Gray and Shirley (McCollum) Swenson, and was completed ca. 1910. Swenson was a first generation Swedish-American, and he was a lifelong entrepreneur and businessman in Abilene. He held leadership positions at Citizens National Bank from the time of its founding in 1902 until the 1960s and also presided over Abilene Light and the Abilene Ice Company. Swenson worked to establish and served on the boards of both the Abilene and Northern Railroad and the Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railroad. His real estate projects included the Mims Building (1926) and the Hilton Hotel (1927). The Swensons were founding members of St. Paul Methodist Church, and they raised their four children in this home. The house’s original cypress siding was covered with buff brick veneer in 1928, exterior cypress columns were replaced with brick columns, and the wood shake roof was converted to clay tile. Also during this renovation, a porch on the south side was enclosed and a second floor sunroom was added. The home features the broad overhangs and long, horizontal lines indicative of the prairie architectural style. Mission-style elements include quatrefoil windows and a curved dormer over the front entrance. After the deaths of W.G. Swenson in 1969 and Shirley Swenson in 1974, ownership of the house remained in the Swenson family until 1986, when it was donated to the Abilene Preservation League.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Completed around 1910 for banker and businessman William Gray Swenson, this two-story brick home reflects the prosperity of early-twentieth-century Abilene. A first-generation Swedish-American, Swenson helped found Citizens National Bank and led local utility and railroad ventures, later erecting the city's Mims Building and Hilton Hotel. A 1928 renovation clad the house in buff brick and added Prairie- and Mission-style flourishes before the family donated it to the Abilene Preservation League in 1986.
Why it matters
The Swenson home ties the story of immigrant enterprise to the building of a West Texas city, where banking, utilities, and railroads turned a frontier town into a regional hub.
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Related people
- · William Gray Swenson
- · Shirley McCollum Swenson
Themes & tags
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