DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker's the source here, and I'm just the one bringin' it to life — this is the story of the Alice Emmert Home. Now, every house has got its layers, and this one in Marion County wears every one of them proudly. It started around 1868, when a man named George B.
Draper built the place in late Greek revival style. Clean lines, classical proportions — the kind of architecture that says somebody wanted something that would last. And last it did.
Before 1898, later owners came through and added Victorian elements to the old Draper structure. So by the time the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, this house had already lived more than one life. Then, in 1898, a woman named Alice Emmert purchased it, and that's when things get genuinely interesting.
Alice Emmert was born in 1866 and she died in 1925, and in between those two years she did something not many women of her era managed to do. Miss Emmert was one of the first women elected to public office in the state of Texas. She served as county superintendent of education from 1908 to 1920 — more than a decade steering the course of education in Marion County.
That's not a footnote. That's a legacy. But here's where the story takes one of those turns that makes you set down your coffee.
In 1924, a young woman named Claudia Taylor came to live in this house. You might know her better as Mrs. Lyndon B.
Johnson. She lived right here, under this roof, from 1924 to 1926, while attending school. Two women.
One house. Both of them bound for more than anyone around them might have guessed. The structure is still owned by an Emmert heir today — which means that house George B.
Draper put up around 1868 is still in the family of the woman who made it matter. Some places just hold on to their people.
What the marker says
Built about 1868 in late Greek revival style by George B. Draper. Victorian elements were added by later owners before 1898, when the house was purchased by Alice Emmert (1866-1925). Miss Emmert, who was one of the first women elected to public office in Texas, served as county superintendent of education, 1908-20. Claudia Taylor (Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson) lived here, 1924-26, while attending school. The structure is still owned by an Emmert heir. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974